Worldwide Motherboard Shipments Slow in 2Q 2013 on Weak Haswell Sales

Friday 13 September 2013, Amsterdam

Defect in 8 Series Chipsets Hinders End-User Product Demand

According to Evelyn Chang, Industry Analyst for Information System , The worldwide motherboard shipment volume reached around 33.62 million units, down 3.5% sequentially. Although the second quarter is traditionally a weak season for the motherboard industry, pure motherboards supporting Haswell processor had begun shipment in May, ahead of barebones and full-system products. Consequently, shipment share of pure motherboards inched up sequentially in the second quarter.

"The motherboard industry has reached a high level of maturity, leading to a slowdown in the overall market demand, particularly in Europe and the United States", said Evelyn Chang. "Even with Intel's launch of new Haswell processor, the market continued to take a wait-and-see attitude and motherboard vendors put more effort into inventory clearance". However, they found little room to reduce product prices due to the wage hikes in China and the recent appreciation of RMB. To maintain profit margins, motherboard vendors have withdrawn from the strategy of cutting down product prices for higher sales volume. As China and other emerging countries are currently the major markets of motherboards, consumers in these markets are more sensitive to price and have a stronger demand for value-line products over high-end ones. The industry's shipment value totaled around US$1.47 billion in the second quarter of 2013, down 2.8% sequentially.

Meanwhile, as Haswell processors and 8 series chipsets play an important role in Intel's next-stage product development, they have received much attention in the market. The design flaw, though is minor, has directly discouraged end users from buying. To this end, Intel fixed this bug in late July and delivered updated motherboards to its customers, hoping to minimize the impact and stimulate purchases.

Upbeat Outlook for Motherboard Shipment Volume and Value in 3Q 2013 on New Product Releases

As Intel solved the design problem of Haswell chipsets in July, mainstream products equipped with Haswell processors will reach the shops in the third quarter of 2013, with branded vendors' pull-in demand unleashing from July. Coupled with the back-to-school demand and inventory buildup for China's October holidays, the third quarter is expected to be a peak season for the motherboard industry. It is therefore projected that the worldwide motherboard shipment volume will reach around 36.31 million units, up 8% sequentially.

As for shipment value, a noticeable increase in motherboard ASP is expected since vendors have quitted low-price promotions and set higher price for Haswell products. The worldwide motherboard industry's shipment value is forecast to total around US$1.6 billion in the third quarter of 2013, up 9.2% sequentially, with ASP reaching US$44.1.