Overall and global motherboard shipments are expected to drop 10% in 2018 after the global PC market experienced a continued setback in 2017, particularly the PC DIY sector, which is expected to have its market size reduced an over 15% in the year, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.
Worldwide branded motherboard shipments reached around 75 million units in 2013 and went down to less than 50 million in 2016 and are estimated to shrink to only 43 million units in 2017. Among the first-tier brand vendors, Gigabyte Technology, due to its business restructuring process, has experienced a sharp drop in its motherboard shipments to 12.6 million units in 2017, from the 16.2 million units shipped a year earlier.
However, some market watchers are optimistic about Gigabyte's operations to return stable in the first half of 2018, allowing the company to regain its lost orders.
Currently, the gaming sector is still enjoying sales growth and is contributing strong profits thanks to their high ASPs. However, with Asustek Computer currently dominating the sector, owning nearly 70% of the market pie, which has left limited space for other motherboard players to expand their sales, said the sources - Digitimes.
