Acer, HP, Lenovo ordering far fewer PCs

Computer shipments have suddenly "fallen off a cliff" in the past month, JP Morgan analyst Christopher Danely said in a new research note. Checking with Taiwan suppliers, he understood that Acer, HP and Lenovo have all cut their orders for notebooks, chips or both as of July. Other companies weren't named, but their positions in the top five PC builders points to others being affected as well.

The results led the analyst to cut his revenue and sales estimates for Intel. He didn't anticipate a significant turnaround as he saw demand slowing in China, Europe and the US, triggering oversupply of notebooks. System vendors faced with a glut of unsold stock will often temporarily stop production to give resellers a chance to clear backlogs.

Shrinking orders across multiple companies could be signs of a somewhat unexpected contraction of the overall computer business. Whether it will affect the wider market isn't as clear. Companies that focus on high-end computers, such as Apple, have continued growing computer sales at above the average industry rate, even at the height of the world economic slump when some lower-cost rivals were scaling back.

By Electronista Staff