Shipments of smartphones by Taiwan-based brand vendors and ODMs are expected to decline 39.6% on year to below 10 million units in the first quarter of 2017, according to Digitimes Research. Taiwan's brand vendors and ODMs shipped a total of 13.22 million smartphones in the fourth quarter of 2016, up 7% on quarter but down 26.3% on year.
Most clients of Taiwan's ODMs will hold back their orders in the first quarter, Digitimes Research said. Sony Mobile Communications will reduce its orders significantly for old models in the first quarter due to product transition, while shipments of new models by ODMs Compal Electronics and Arima Communications to the Japan-based vendor are unlikely to pick up until the second quarter.
Wistron will receive no more new orders from BlackBerry starting the first quarter as the Canada-based vendor has closed its handset hardware business, while orders from LG Electronics to Arima in the first quarter will also be lower than those placed a quarter earlier, Digitimes Research noted.
For all of 2016, smartphone shipments by Taiwan's brand vendors and ODMs declined 32.6% on year to 51.59 million units, the lowest level in five years. Asustek Computer, HTC and Compal were the three makers that saw their yearly shipments surpass 10 million units each in 2016, with Asustek taking the top spot, said Digitimes Research.
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