After several dismal months of low notebook production, ODMs finally posted solid gains in August. Notebook production rose double digits sequentially in August due to the combination of back-to-school sales and early builds timed to the Windows 10 launch. This positive momentum should linger through September and potentially through the rest of 2015. And given that PC companies tightly controlled component inventory for the last several months, component purchases should mirror true market demand.
CQ3 HDD sales are trending solidly, but at this point, it is still slightly below our original forecast of 123 million. However, the good news is that HDD volumes should be measurably higher than CQ2’s disappointing 110 million figure. We are expecting that CQ4 HDD sales will improve over CQ3, and end this challenging year on a relatively positive note.