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Rumours talk of Mobo component shortage

Published on 15th March 2010 by Gareth Halfacree

Motherboard manufacturers are reportedly worried about component shortages caused by lack of labour.

Motherboard manufacturers are currently struggling to meet demand as they experience a chronic component shortage.

The claims - made by un-named industry sources over on DigiTimes - state that first-tier motherboard manufacturers are upping their component orders with their suppliers in order to stockpile parts and avoid delaying shipments during the shortages.

Manufacturers Asustek, Gigabyte, Micro-Star International, and Elitegroup - some of the largest motherboard manufacturers in the world - are named as being concerned at the increasing scarcity of parts including multi-layer ceramic capacitors from Walsin Technology Corporation and Yageo, solid capacitors from Sanyo and Chemi-con, and RJ45 connectors from Foxconn.

The blame for the shortages is placed at the feet of recent labour shortages, which have caused component manufacturers to scale down output until they can hire more people - something which is expected to happen by the end of next month. While this will allow manufacturers to increase production once more, the damage to the market could already have been done - and it's perfectly possible that price rises could result.

More worryingly for the component manufacturers named in the report is the possibility that, in their rush to prevent undersupply, motherboard manufacturers build up a stockpile of parts - which will potentially result in the motherboard manufacturers cancelling future orders to prevent oversupply, harming the component manufacturers' future cashflow.

So far none of the motherboard or component manufacturers named in DigiTimes' claims have come forward to confirm or deny the rumours, but if true OEMs such as Dell and HP - who traditionally buy vast quantities of motherboards for their pre-built systems - could be in for a rough few months.

Are you surprised to see that a shortage of parts for just a couple of months would be enough to raise prices, or are you simply concerned that your next purchase could cost you more than you had bargained for? Share your thoughts over in the forums.

10 Comments

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TWeaK 15th March 2010, 10:50

It seems strange to me that, in the middle of a global recession, there are companies who can't find people to hire. I wonder if the companies actually laid off too many people a few months ago expecting demand to fall and got their predictions wrong.

Ah well, it's not their concern really. It's always the consumer who foots the bill at the end of the day.

Doomah 15th March 2010, 11:03

I think is a fake. They just crewed down production so the prices would rise and they would make more profit. Now the demand is rising again after the recession so the prices go up even more.

javaman 15th March 2010, 11:20

Luckly I've an AM2+ system so all i need is a bio update and then to drop in a new processor. Hopefully by the time I do get round to upgrading the price will have dropped below what it is today and then I'd be far more likley to go for an i5 or something. Really depends if the prices fall enough. Price/performance ftw lol.

Aracos 15th March 2010, 11:24

Lucky for me I have a motherboard I won't be upgrading for a while so I'm perfectly happyface. Let's just hope the price rises aren't going to be at the level of ram increases :(

dicobalt 15th March 2010, 11:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by TWeaK
It seems strange to me that, in the middle of a global recession, there are companies who can't find people to hire. I wonder if the companies actually laid off too many people a few months ago expecting demand to fall and got their predictions wrong.

Ah well, it's not their concern really. It's always the consumer who foots the bill at the end of the day.

I worked for a large company that people around the world would know by name. They have people working required 12-16 hour days 13 days in a row and are still backlogged. They refuse to hire enough people or slow down operations in the least bit. It is absolutely hilarious how much it is costing them in overtime, employee morale, quality, and loyalty. The problem is the people running these companies are flat out morons.

javaman 15th March 2010, 11:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by dicobalt
I worked for a large company that people around the world would know by name. They have people working required 12-16 hour days 13 days in a row and are still backlogged. They refuse to hire enough people or slow down operations in the least bit. It is absolutely hilarious how much it is costing them in overtime, employee morale, quality, and loyalty. The problem is the people running these companies are flat out morons.

Problem is your not a 12year old chinese gold farmer

pizan 15th March 2010, 12:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by javaman
Quote:
Originally Posted by dicobalt
I worked for a large company that people around the world would know by name. They have people working required 12-16 hour days 13 days in a row and are still backlogged. They refuse to hire enough people or slow down operations in the least bit. It is absolutely hilarious how much it is costing them in overtime, employee morale, quality, and loyalty. The problem is the people running these companies are flat out morons.

Problem is your not a 12year old chinese gold farmer

So it's not Apple he's talking about?

DXR_13KE 15th March 2010, 14:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by dicobalt
I worked for a large company that people around the world would know by name. They have people working required 12-16 hour days 13 days in a row and are still backlogged. They refuse to hire enough people or slow down operations in the least bit. It is absolutely hilarious how much it is costing them in overtime, employee morale, quality, and loyalty. The problem is the people running these companies are flat out morons.

Or power hungry pigs that don't know better....

mclintox 15th March 2010, 21:35

Nevermind mobo prices going up,when is the price of DDR coming back down?

rockyourazz 24th March 2010, 03:54

Oh no !!!! I think It's true !!!

I was planning on getting an Asus Rampage GENE II last month and it was in stock....

Now I can't find it in stock ANYWHERE here in Israel... :(

I have been trying for about a week and have covered all known stores.....

I hope it will be solved soon and I could go get my long awaited motherboard..... I already have all the other components here waiting to be placed in it.... so sad.....