Taiwan-based motherboard makers are turning optimistic about their July sales and expect shipments to grow 20% on month with third-quarter shipments to grow 15-20% sequentially, according to sources from motherboard makers.

Most of the motherboard makers were originally conservative about shipments performance in July and August due to weaker-than-expected demand in Europe and China in the second quarter, but as demand from the two market channels started picking up in early July, the makers have recently started adjusting their shipments forecasts for the third quarter.

However, shipment volumes in the third quarter are still unlikely to bounce back to the same level as in the first quarter, the sources noted.

As for the fourth quarter, the sources believe that strong shipment growth will persist in October, but will start turning weak in November and December, therefore the makers are expected to focus on promoting their products in the third quarter to boost shipment volumes, meaning a price war is likely to occur in August and September with the China market to see the fiercest competition.

Asustek shipped about 10.3 million own-brand motherboards in the first half, Gigabyte Technology shipped 8.4 million units, Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) shipped 4.4 million units, Micro-Star International (MSI) shipped 3.8 million units and ASRock shipped 3.9 million units - via DigiTimes.