Inventories of Pentium 4 chipsets at some leading Taiwanese motherboard makers have recently swelled in excess of one-month levels, instead of normal two-week levels, according to sources at the makers.
The rise in inventories is due to slow sales of motherboards in the second quarter, a flood of chipsets released into the market by PC OEMs and motherboard makers, and additional supply dumped into the market by channel distributors abroad, said the sources.
Efforts by Intel to push sales to motherboard makers and channel distributors amid sluggish demand in the second quarter have also contributed to runaway inventories, some makers claimed.
Second quarter shipments from Taiwan’s top four motherboard makers are expected to drop 6-17% sequentially, pushing up their inventory levels, the sources explained.
Inventories include the complete family of Pentium 4 chipsets, in addition to chipsets such as the 848P and the 845GV that were in stock from the first quarter, the sources added.
The price difference between Intel’s official listing and the market price has hit US$5-6 for some types of chipsets, up from a normal gap of US$1-2, further complicating the situation, said the sources.
Article translated by Steve Shen and edited by Michael McManus
