Global notebook shipments for the first quarter of 2020 are estimated to fall of 29-36%, larger than 17% projected earlier, as severe labor and components shortages and stagnant logistics arising from the coronavirus outbreak are derailing supply chain in China, according to Digitimes Research.
Notebook ODMs are being hit hard by the epidemic, as their plants in China, which commands over 90% of global notebook production, can register low capacity utilization of around 30%.
This is due to slow employee returns, 14-day quarantine requirement of returning workers and prolonged resumption of production at suppliers of non-key components which ODMs usually keep low inventory, the research said.
Meanwhile, ODMs are also seeing their inbound transportation of raw materials and components, and outbound shipments of finished products hit by strict traffic controls, lack of drivers or a 14-day quarantine on cross-provincial cargo shipments.
ODMs in Taiwan with larger number of employees staying inside plants during the Lunar New Year holiday or higher rate of returning employees can more easily restore their capacity utilization. In this regard, Compal is expected to perform better than Quanta and Wistron in the second quarter, Digitimes Research believes.
