The US is delaying imposing 10% tariffs on some consumer electronics products from China, including notebooks and handsets, but the cloud of uncertainty created by the US-China trade war is still hovering over the IT industry. Taiwan-based notebook ODMs remain conservative about their shipments in the second half of 2019. Worse still, Compal Electronics has even warned that Intel CPU shortages will not fully ease until first-quarter 2020. At any rate, notebook ODMs are moving some of their production out of China to avoid any possible impact on their shipments to the US. Manufacturers of Apple's wearable devices, such as AirPods, are also mulling leaving China.
Notebook ODMs conservative about 2H19, as Intel CPU shortages remain: Compal Eletronics has warned that Intel CPU shortages remain a factor, along with the US-China trade war, affecting notebook shipments, with the ODM expecting a decline in the third quarter before a rebound in the fourth.
Notebook ODMs set to move part of production outside China: The US government's latest decision to delay the impelmentation of a 10% tariff on notebook imports has not changed the minds of notebook ODMs who have already made plans to move some of their production out of China, according to industry sources.
Makers mulling moving wearables production lines out of China: While the US is delaying imposing additional tariffs on some imports from China until December 15, supply chain makers are still evaluating the possibility of moving their production capacity for wearable devices such as Apple's AirPods outside China in response to rising relocation calls from clients, according to industry sources.
