Motherboard shipments to fall to 45 million units this year

Sources from the upstream supply chain told DigiTimes that global sales of PC motherboards are expected to reach only 45 million units this year. While certain pockets of the market (like gaming PCs) are doing well, the overall PC market remains very weak. Motherboard sales amounted to 75 million units in 2013 and slipped below 50 million units in 2016.

Demand is still looking weak as the Chinese growth engine is stuttering, and the industry reportedly expects 2018 sales will be even lower than this year's:

Worldwide brand motherboard shipments were 75 million units in 2013, but slipped below 50 million units in 2016. Since motherboard demand from China, which had been the main growth driver in the past few years, is dropping significantly, shipments are expected to remain in decline in 2017.

Gigabyte Technology is also expected to see its motherboard shipments drop below 13 million units in 2017. In addition to China's weakening demand, competition from Asustek has also grown fiercer, the sources noted.