Rising components costs trouble PC makers

Additional to that, new Chinese labour laws will contribute to rising prices for branded notebook computers from OEM companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Acer. Quanta, Compal and Wistron are the world's three largest contract manufacturers. "We will be raising prices for the first time,” said Ray Chen, chief executive of Compal, which expects to account for 25% of the global market this year, reports the mac observer. All additional costs for material as well as costs for new labour laws and tax rules will be passed on to consumers. “This time, the industry can make a case because makers of components such as batteries, panels or memory chips, which in some cases the branded vendors source directly themselves, are sending the same message,” said Chris Wei, an analyst in Tapei with the Institute for Information Industry.