Server sales seen dropping 9 percent this quarter

DigiTimes Research crunched the numbers and concludes worldwide server sales are expected to fall 9 percent quarter-over-quarter in Q4 2018. The agency elaborates that sales were originally expected to see a significant quarter-over-quarter growth, but this did not materialize as major server customers are cutting orders to minimize the impact of the US-China trade war.

Shipments rose only slightly to four million units in the traditional peak season in the third quarter, as buyers already had made significant purchases in the second quarter, and were less eager to place orders during the industry's transition to new platforms. The transition factor is seen to keep playing a role in affecting shipment performance in the fourth quarter, Digitimes Research's latest server tracker report shows.

For the full year, server shipments are anticipated to be up 10.5 percent year-over-year. DigiTimes Research expects shipments will remain slow in Q1 2019, but notes growth momentum will likely pick up in Q2 2019.