ODMs Continue to Dominate in CM of Mobile PCs
EL SEGUNDO, CA – Contract manufacturers accepting outsourcing jobs or taking on production duties for manufacturers will account for 90% of the world’s shipments of mobile PCs in 2011, says IHS iSuppli.
ODMs will make up 82% of mobile PC shipments this year, while electronic manufacturing services providers will be responsible for an additional 8%. OEMs will account for just 10% of the overall mobile PC market, says the research firm.
The share splits will remain largely unchanged in the years to come, but EMS providers will make slight headway, gradually solidifying their foothold in the space at the expense of ODMs, says IHS iSuppli.
Nonetheless, ODMs will continue to dominate in the contract manufacturing of mobile PCs. For their part, OEMs – with a few exceptions, such as Samsung – will continue to slash in-house production and outsource jobs to both groups to realize greater cost savings.
Among the top 10 mobile PC manufacturers for 2010, the top 5 were all ODMs, including Quanta Computer, Compal Electronics, Wistron, Inventec and Pegatron – manufacturers all headquartered in Taiwan.
The top OEM was Samsung, currently in sixth place. Top EMS providers were Hon Hai Precision Industry, in seventh, and Flextronics, ranked eighth. OEMs Lenovo Group and Fujitsu came in ninth and tenth, respectively.
Flextronics said it might not participate in new mobile PC programs next year, but Hon Hai will remain formidable in the mobile PC industry, IHS iSuppli believes.
Overall, the mobile PC market will continue to remain a significant source of revenue for the global electronics manufacturing industry, despite the rising popularity of tablet devices such as Apple’s iPad. However, mobile PC manufacturing may move toward consolidation further down the line.
