Supply Chain Research

Orders for Chromebook parts are down, potentially a sign that the rabid demand for laptops in the U.S. may be slowing. Panjiva analysis shows that imports of laptops grew by only 3.8% year over year in Q2, against Q1 which saw a 110.7% year over year increase. Asus likely took advantage of the demand with imports increasing by 39.3% year over year in Q2, while imports from Supermicro increased by 16.4% in the same period. Asus CFO Nick Wu referenced the demand on a recent earnings call saying ““our entire industry is facing demand, outstripping supply, and shortages in our supply chain.”...