Chewei Lin, the general manager of ASUS's motherboard business, recently revealed that Asustek has decided to increase the price of the motherboard this year, depending on the market demand and price.
He explained that the reasons for the increase in prices are various, including the shortage of labour resources in mainland China, the appreciation of the Taiwan dollar, the rise in the cost of raw materials, etc. In particular, the price of copper has exceeded 9,000 US dollars per ton.
Lin Zhewei did not disclose the specific rate of increase, but according to industry sources, the average increase in the first half of this year will be within the range of 5-10%, or up to 15%.
However, Lin Zhewei said that the price increase will not affect the development of its motherboard business and sales of DIY channels, because some key PC components are actually lowering prices, so the overall purchase cost will not have significant growth.
In the fourth quarter of 2010, ASUS motherboard shipments totaled 5.6 million units. The total annual shipment volume was 21.6 million, and the target of 25 million units was not reached. Lin Zhewei expects the number of shipments this year will increase by 5% to 22.68 million.
He explained that the reasons for the increase in prices are various, including the shortage of labour resources in mainland China, the appreciation of the Taiwan dollar, the rise in the cost of raw materials, etc. In particular, the price of copper has exceeded 9,000 US dollars per ton.
Lin Zhewei did not disclose the specific rate of increase, but according to industry sources, the average increase in the first half of this year will be within the range of 5-10%, or up to 15%.
However, Lin Zhewei said that the price increase will not affect the development of its motherboard business and sales of DIY channels, because some key PC components are actually lowering prices, so the overall purchase cost will not have significant growth.
In the fourth quarter of 2010, ASUS motherboard shipments totaled 5.6 million units. The total annual shipment volume was 21.6 million, and the target of 25 million units was not reached. Lin Zhewei expects the number of shipments this year will increase by 5% to 22.68 million.