According to statistics released by the market research firm IDC, the PC shipment volume in Taiwan was 688,300 in the fourth quarter of 2008, a decrease of 9.1% compared with the previous quarter.

IDC says because the market demands remain in the doldrums, the volume of PC shipments in Taiwan is expected to decrease by 8% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2009.

Statistics show that 295,800 notebooks were shipped from Taiwan in the fourth quarter of 2008, a year-on-year increase of 16.2%, of which, the family market maintained a year-on-year growth of 22.7% while the corporate market decreased by 3.6%. For the brands of these notebooks, the shipment volumes of Asus and Acer were the largest, followed by HP and Lenovo.

During the same period, the shipment volume of desktops was 392,600, a year-on-year decrease of 9%, of which, the family market achieved a year-on-year growth of 5.6% while the corporate market decreased by 20.9%. By brands, Acer, Asus, HP and Lenovo still topped the shipment list.