Euro PC sales might be heading for a slump

GROWING SIGNS that the European PC market is about to take a smack on the nose with a rolled up newspaper are being seen in Taiwan.

The big PC manufacturers are starting to report that European PC makers are trying to cut back on their parts orders.

Digitimes reports that orders for PC related integrated circuits (ICs) from motherboard makers will be definitely lower in June than those received in May.

The theory is that the number of notebook orders is falling. The problems are expected to last into July before staging an upturn in August and September.

Asustek lowered its shipment targets of motherboards and notebooks for the third quarter of 2010.

Gigabyte Technology, MSI and ECS are also expected to see their performance stay flat in the third quarter, dragging down demand for PC ICs.

Quanta and Foxconn are positive about the business outlook for notebooks, but Compal Electronics, Wistron and Inventec have become more conservative in their projections regarding demand for notebooks in the third quarter.

It has not been just the integrated circuits makers that have seen their orders reduced. Some of the European PC makers have asked for their orders to be delayed because of the economic crisis in Greece. Of course some of this might be due to the falling Euro making prices of components higher lately. µ