Although the third quarter was supposed to be a high season for the digital still camera (DSC) sector, Taiwan shipments increased by only 19.5% on quarter and 10.9% on year. Demand was growing not as strongly as expected, with shipments to some major clients sharply dropped. Strong in the second quarter, shipments of 4-megapixel DSCs to Nikon came to a close in the third quarter.
DigiTimes Research estimates that, not including shipments from Foxconn International Holdings (FIH), Taiwan-based mobile phone manufacturers shipped 35.03 million units in the third quarter of 2006, up 94.2% on year. However, shipments will slide for the first time in five quarters by 0.2% on quarter.
Taiwan notebook shipments experienced only single-digit sequential growth in the second quarter of 2006, due to unexpectedly weak demand in Europe. In addition, Intel’s push to clear out its high inventory level of older-generation CPUs significantly dragged down notebook ASPs (average selling prices) in the first half of 2006.
Taiwan’s digital camera manufacturing sector was unable to weather seasonal effects in the second quarter, despite the considerable volume brought by orders from Casio and Nikon. The situation was not helped by the fact that there was little growth in demand from other major clients, such as Kodak, whose orders had been the chief growth driver of Taiwan’s digital camera sector last year. In the second quarter of 2006, Taiwan’s digital camera shipments grew only 13.5% on-year to 8.4 million units, far lower than the 40% on-year growth fo...
Taiwan’s handset shipments in the second quarter of 2006 failed to meet an original estimate of 39 million units due to inventory pile-up at leading handset manufacturer Compal Communications and the delayed launch of new mobile phones from BenQ-Siemens. Second quarter shipments grew 13.5% on quarter to 36.76 million mobile phones, driven mainly by demand for replacement phones in emerging markets.
In the second quarter of 2006, shipments of optical disc drives (ODDs) by Taiwan-based companies dropped 4.9% on-year and 2.5% on-quarter to 23.76 million units due to seasonal effects. Major decreases were seen in shipments from second-tier maker Behavior Tech Computer (BTC), which was shutting down its ODD lines. The second-largest ODD player BenQ also saw its shipments drop by 13% on-year.
Taiwan notebook makers shipped 13.8 million units in the first quarter of 2005, down 12% from the previous quarter, as inventory and supply issues served to further weaken a traditional down quarter. On-year growth fell to 38% in the quarter, compared to 48% during the same period last year.
Increases in DVD burner shipments from Taiwan’s optical disc drive (ODD) makers in the first quarter of 2006 were too limited to pose a strong challenge to their competitors in Japan and Korea, which accounted for 50% and 30%, respectively, of the global DVD burner market. A large portion of shipments from Taiwan-based makers were still for the CD-RW and CD-ROM segments, and as demand shrank for both segments, overall shipments from Taiwan-based makers dropped sharply.
Shipments of wireless LAN (WLAN) network interface cards (NICs) from Taiwan-based companies grew 9% on quarter in the first quarter of 2006 due to strong market demand, while shipments of wireless routers (including access point devices) decreased 11% on quarter. The drop in wireless router shipments was due mainly to an adjustment of inventory among customers and a decreased number of working days due to the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of January.
Large decreases in orders from Kodak and channel brands dealt a heavy blow to Taiwan’s digital camera makers in the first quarter of 2006, with shipments dropping more than 35% sequentially. The impact will continue to be felt in the second quarter since shipments will increase at a much slower pace, compared to the same period last year.
DigiTimes Research estimates that, not including shipments from Foxconn International Holdings (FIH), Taiwan-based mobile phone manufacturers shipped 31.9 million handsets in the first quarter of 2006. The shipments achieved an on-year jump of 116% and sequential growth of 35%.
