Demand for server applications has been strong, fueled by stay-at-home economy amid lockdowns in response to the coronavirus pandemic. But the lockdowns may disrupt suppliers' production in Southeast Asia, creating shortages for server components. For memory suppliers, they are prioritizing shipments to the datacenter sector to support expanding stay-at-home economy, which is also propelling demand for server memory backend services that PTI offers. Notebook ODMs also saw staggering on-month sales growth in March, driven by users' needs to work and study from home.
Concerns about server component shortages emerge: With a number of Southeast Asian countries imposing various levels of coronavirus lockdowns, concerns have been rising about component shortages that may hit the server industry supply chain, according to industry sources.
Memory vendors give priority to orders for data centers: Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron Technology now give priority to shipping memory chips and devices for data centers and other server applications, as demand for smartphones is slowing down, according to industry sources.
PTI 1Q20 revenues spike 30% on robust server memory demand: Memory backend specialist Powertech Technology (PTI) saw first-quarter 2020 consolidated revenues surge 30.35% on year to hit the firm's second-highest quarterly level at NT$18.81 billion (US$625.6 million), buoyed by strong demand for datacenter storage and other server applications, according to company sources.
Compal, Inventec, Acer see staggering on-month revenue growths in March: Taiwan-based notebook ODMs enjoyed increased revenues in March thanks to rising orders from clients, while brand vendor Acer also achieved strong revenue growth in the month.