The PC market, which has long been dominated by laptops, has still not fully recovered from the consequences of the pandemic, which caused overstocking and a decrease in demand, but TrendForce experts believe that global laptop shipments by the end of this year will still increase by 3. 7% compared to the past to 173.65 million units.
Image source: Lenovo
At the same time, the demand for new devices of this type will be concentrated mainly in the entry-level price range and in the educational services segment. Laptop manufacturers are pinning their hopes on a revival of demand, relying mainly on flagship models with the function of accelerating artificial intelligence systems, but the high cost of new products in conditions of macroeconomic uncertainty is putting off many buyers.
Only next year, according to TrendForce experts, the demand for laptops with AI from corporate buyers will allow supply volumes to increase by 5% compared to the current year. In terms of diversification of the geography of laptop production, important changes are also taking place. Contract manufacturers of laptops are trying to transfer their assembly from China to Vietnam and Thailand, and India is trying to attract manufacturers. This year, Vietnam’s share in the global market for contract manufacturing services for laptops will grow to 6%, according to the authors of the forecast. Dell and Apple will be the most active players in this migration direction.
The efforts of HP Inc. order servicers. Taiwanese companies Quanta and Inventec to transfer the production of laptops to Thailand will allow the latter country to quickly increase its market share of these services to 2.3%. If last year only 7.2% of laptops were produced outside China, then by the end of the current year the figure will increase to 12.4%. One way or another, none of the other regions of the planet can yet boast of such large capacities for producing laptops and a developed network of component suppliers. The ability of end laptop suppliers to quickly adapt to changing market conditions will largely determine their market success in the coming years.