Report: Coronavirus Sending Motherboard and GPU Shipments to Record Low

Shipments for motherboards and graphics cards are on their way to hitting record-low levels by the end of H1 2020, DigiTimes reported today. The publication cited sources at unnamed motherboard makers.

The record-low shipments can be attributed to the coronavirus outbreak, which has sent rippling damage throughout the tech industry. Near the start of the outbreak, factories in China and surrounding producers had to get shut down, and local demand for motherboards and graphics cards reportedly came to a standstill. 

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According to Digitimes, AMD, Nvidia and Intel are expected to see "weaker sales than their original targets in the first half," and "consumer demand in the third quarter may not see a recovery as much as many market observers had anticipated." 

The publication added that its sources said motherboard and graphics card sales in China fell 30-50% year-on-year last month and isn't expected to improve until July at the earliest. 

COVID-19 is now hitting over 130 countries and taking its toll on the global economy. The stock market is suffering, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have nosedived and with people more concerned for their well-being and essentials, it makes sense that computer part purchases are not a priority.

The drop in demand could explain why Nvidia has opted to delay its GTC news -- without the demand there, it is better postponing the launch of its Ampere architecture and next-generation RTX graphics cards until demand recovers and the company can deal with the production shortages. 

Although the world is finally taking action to get the COVID-19 outbreak under control, at this time it is not known how long that will take, nor how long it will take for the global economy to recover.