Tough Times Ahead for Taiwanese Computer Contract Manufacturers

Taiwanese contract computer makers are expected to equal last year's production total of 110 million notebook PCs in 2009, but earn as much as 5 percent less in total revenues, a market research organization said.

Total revenue for the contract makers reached an estimated $57.3 billion in 2008, the semi-official Institute for Information Industry said in a report.

However, the report said the figure could drop between as much as 3 and 5 percent this year as makers cut prices because of the global economic downturn.

Taiwanese contract makers produce 90 percent of the world's notebooks for leading foreign OEMs including Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Sony and Toshiba, as well as Taiwanese computer firms including Acer. The makers use their extensive assembly lines in mainland China to cut production costs.

Source: Bangkok Post