Notebook makers expect 15-20% more shipments in Q3 2008

Wistron shipped nine million notebooks in the first half of this year, 4.3 million units in the first quarter and 4.7 million units in the second.

Regarding moves by EMS providers to try to grab notebook orders, Wistron commented that based on its past experience, notebook vendors will not outsource orders in large volumes to newcomers with less than 2-3 years' experience in the market.

As for the market's pessimistic response to Wistron's acquisition of Lite-On's display business, Wistron commented that it has gone through a careful evaluation of inventory management, the buildup of an economic scale, and ways to lower costs through bulk purchasing. The company said it does not expect monitor shipments to surpass 12 million units this year, compared to Lite-On's shipments of 13 million in 2007, but, on the other hand, gross margin is likely to be higher.

Quanta shipped eight million notebooks in the first quarter of 2008 and 8.7 million in the second, and said it is still confident in meeting its annual shipments goal of 40 million units. In addition to notebooks, Quanta said it is being aggressive in its non-notebook businesses which include IP phones, servers and medical applications.