Global notebook shipments expected to fall 5.4 percent

Global notebook computer shipments are expected to fall 5.4 percent year-on-year to about 173 million units this year, as major brands face a sluggish economic recovery, cautious consumer spending and surging memory prices, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said on Tuesday.Brands also have to adjust their pricing strategy, inventory management, promotions and product configurations in response to rising cost and margin pressures, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a statement.If memory price increases do not ease significantly by the second quarter and brands are unable to pass on higher costs, demand for entry-level and consumer notebooks could decline further and drive full-year notebook shipments to fall 10.1 percent at most, it said.TrendForce said brands with long-term, stable partnerships with major memory suppliers are better positioned to weather the price increases.In addition, notebook makers with a higher share of commercial and mid-to-high-end products, as well as more mature channel and pricing management, would also be able to maintain shipment stability, it said. Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想), the world’s largest notebook vendor by volume, reportedly notified customers that it would adjust prices across all of its product lines starting on Monday.However, Lenovo’s scale advantages and strong supply chain partnerships could help cap its price increases and give it greater flexibility in managing costs, potentially allowing the company to gain market share despite broader market headwinds, TrendForce said.Apple Inc’s integrated supply chain and strong pricing power could also give it greater flexibility to adjust its product lineup, TrendForce added.The MacBook maker’s substantial and stable procurement volumes, along with a clear product release schedule and highly predictable demand planning, also help it secure priority cooperation with memory suppliers, the researcher said.After Dell Technologies Inc on Dec. 17 raised prices by 10 to 30 percent across its commercial portfolio, Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) on Tuesday said in a notice to customers that it would adjust prices for parts of its product portfolio starting on Monday.Capacity realignments, heavier spending on advanced processes and booming artificial intelligence demand have created a structural supply gap across the industry and driven unprecedented cost pressure on key components — especially DRAM and NAND chips as well as solid state drives, Asustek systems business general manager Jose Liao (廖逸翔) said in the notice.