Taiwan Watch: Quanta Regains # 1 Notebook Position


The China Post today reports that Quanta, the manufacturer of Apple's PowerBooks, has regained its # 1 position in the Taiwanese notebook computer market.

The company reported revenue of over NT10.2 billion ($US297 million) for August. Its competitor Compal, which had previously taken the top position, posted revenues during the same month of NT$8.7 billion.

Quanta's revenue was down in July, due to the shortfall in demand for Apple notebook models. As a result, Quanta lost its notebook # 1 position in July. However, it has begun to compensate for the slowing of demand for Mac portables by taking up new manufacturing contracts with NEC and other unspecified Japanese firms, according to the article.

Analysis: The fact that Quanta has to use its surplus capacity for other manufacturers due to slowing Apple portable sales should surprise no one. While there may still be considerable inventory of old product, Jobs might still have announced some 'silent upgrades' (hard drives, RAM) as we enter the Xmas sales season. Other sources have suggested Apple iBook sales have slowed from around 180 per day to 120, which may well play havoc with the bottom line this quarter.