68 mln motherboards shipped out of Taiwan in the first half of 2005, 5.3% growth

In Q2 2005, motherboard makers rode the continuing momentum caused by growth in emerging markets in Q1 2005, as shipments to China, the Asia-Pacific region and Eastern Europe remained strong. According to the Market Intelligence Center (MIC), the industry thus withstood the effects of a traditionally weak season, as shipment volume reached 33 mln units, year-on-year growth of 6.1%; total shipment volume in first half of 2005 reached 68 mln units, year-on-year growth of 5.3%.

Besides the fact that makers used value-line offerings to stimulate demand in the end-market, other factors that boosted volume included orders postponed to the second quarter due to shortages in chipset supply in Q1 2005, and the stocking by major brands in preparation for the second half of 2005. Although Intel and AMD both introduced dual-core CPUs, the share of motherboards designed for dual-core CPUs remains low and consequently these new high-end offerings had only a limited effect on ASP (Average Selling Price). Additionally, demand from major brands and from the clone market for value-line offerings went up, causing ASP to fall year-on-year to $54.8 from $55.3. However, as shipment volume increased, shipment value grew 5.2% year-on-year to $1.8 bln, making the first half of 2005 totaled $3.8 bln.

Looking ahead to Q3 2005, shipment performance is likely to be affected by early stocking up by the major PC vendors; however, demand in North America, China and the Asia-Pacific region is expected to be brisk, stimulating shipment volume. Although the economy in Western Europe has not yet rebounded, back-to-school demand is expected to be strong. All these factors combined will bring about 5.8% year-on-year and 9.8% sequential growth in Q3 2005, reaching 36.2 mln units.