Following the end of CES 2014, products such as wearable computers and 4K TVs, rather than PCs and Notebooks, have become the main focuses among industry watchers. The PC shipments have been unable to recover since it showed a near 0% growth in 2011, and suffered an estimated 10% decline in 2013 even after Microsoft's new operating system and Intel's latest chip platforms had been introduced.
According to the latest survey by WitsView, the display division of the global intelligence provider TrendForce, the large-sized panel shipment in December 2013 reached 73.71 million units, declining 4% MoM. WitsView projects panel shipment of all application will weaken in January with a 10-11% drop in the overall large-sized panel shipment. The TV panel will decline 10%, monitor and NB panel shipment will trim 14% and 11%, and tablet panel shipment will decrease 10%.
Worldwide smartphone shipments reached 265 million units in 4Q13, showing a growth of 6.5% QoQ and 32.2% YoY, according to TrendForce’s research. Thanks to the recent momentum brought about by Apple’s new iPhones, the proportion of high-end smartphone devices shipped jumped from 35% in 3Q13 to 37% in 4Q13, whereas that for the mid to low-range models (ie. those whose prices fall within the range of US$450~US$150) remained at approximately 50%. For the entire 2013, worldwide smartphone shipments increased by an estimated 33.5% YoY, ending at approximately 945 million units. With smartphone makers ramping up Q4 shipments as a means to fulfill 2013 sales targets and pressures related to inventory digestion mounting, TrendForce projects that the global smartphone shipments will drop by an estimated 5.1% in 1Q14.
The DRAM contract prices have gradually begun to decline due the increased production at SK Hynix's Wuxi Plant and the industry's eased shortage situation, according to DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce. The highest price for mainstream 4GB modules has already fallen from US$35 to US$34, and is perceived to be a leading indicator of the impending price changes within the market. Calculating on the basis of the market's average prices ($US33), the price of the 4Gb chip is estimated to be approximately $US 3.81, which is around 10.3% less than the US$4.203 spot price. Avril Wu, TrendForce’s assistant vice president, projects that the DRAM contract prices will first converge with the market spot prices by the end of the first quarter, and then begin to fall during 2Q14.
