Despite high hopes, PC demand continues to disappoint

DigiTimes reports companies in the Taiwanese supply chain expected global PC demand to "significantly rebound" this quarter, but this outlook is no longer realistic as retail channels are conservative about taking shipments. High inventory levels are to blame, as well as currency exchange rate fluctuations.

With smart mobile devices seeing quick growth and are able to replicate many PC functions, PC shipments have been dropping for four consecutive years, while Microsoft and Intel's new platforms have not been able to boost demand.

In the first half of 2016, most ODMs relied mainly on orders for servers, smartphones and network products to fill their gap from PC shipments. They originally expected their shipments in the third quarter to grow over 20% from the second, but feedback from retail channels may say otherwise.

There is some optimism about 2-in-1 devices and gaming laptops, but even combined those two aren't expected to contribute more than 10 million unit shipments a year, far lower than the decline of the PC market.