PC makers sharply cutting Q1 2009 volume

Several top-ten PC vendors including Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Acer and Asustek Computer are expected to reduce their PC order volumes in the first quarter of 2009 by around 50% compared to the same period in the previous year, according to sources at component makers.

HP is planning to cut orders by around 50%, Dell 50-60%, and Acer and Asustek 40-50% each.

The sources pointed out that they originally thought that HP and Dell were trying to lower their costs by combining orders together and outsourcing to just a few makers, but after confirming with other channel sources, it became clear that the two vendors have actually significantly reduced their orders.