The Market Intelligence Center (MIC) forecasts the Taiwan motherboard market will see only 2% shipment growth this year. However, compared to the 6% decline in 2001, the small growth would actually suggest a glimpse of recovering demand.
As Intel’s new Socket 478-based Pentium 4 and the latest Socket A products from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) gradually come into the market mainstream, Taiwan’s motherboard industry is due to enjoy production value growth of 8.3% this year, given that the new products have higher ASPs (average selling prices).
However, the peak of demand for PC replacements will not appear until 2003, said MIC, as most of the new-generation products are set to hit the market after the second half of 2002.
MIC estimates that Intel’s Socket 478 P4 and AMD’s new Socket A-based products will make up 49.3% and 43.5% of Taiwan’s clone market, respectively, in 2002.
Among other trends in the motherboard industry this year, MIC noted that chain stores would play a more important role as retailers. Their sales ratio are expected to rise from 19% last year to 23% in 2002, while sales within the traditional retailer segment would drop from 58% to 51%.
In the procurement market, the alliance between major motherboard makers and distributors will become a formidable force against traditional brand-name PC manufacturers. Recently, primary motherboard makers, such as Asustek Computer, have entered the sector via this cooperative effort.
Article translated by Christy Lee and edited by Zoran Pavlovski
