CHENG TING-FANG and LAULY LI of Nikkei Asia is reporting HP plans to move production of millions of PC’s to Thailand and Mexico. They write (abridged):
HP is working with suppliers to shift production of millions of consumer and commercial laptops to Thailand and Mexico this year, in the top U.S. computer maker’s first substantial move to diversify its personal computer supply chain beyond China.
The world’s No. 2 PC maker by shipments after China’s Lenovo, HP is plann
ing to shift some commercial notebook computer production to Mexico, while a portion of its consumer laptop production will go to Thailand, sources briefed on the matter told Nikkei Asia. HP is also planning to shift some laptop production to Vietnam, starting next year, one of the suppliers said.
The output outside of China this year will be a couple of million to 5 million units, they said. HP shipped 55.2 million PCs worldwide last year, Canalys’ data showed.
Thailand already has a number of PC suppliers, which could facilitate HP’s shift, while production in Mexico would help the company better serve its primary North American market.
HP released a statement on its website on Monday, the same day that Nikkei Asia approached the company for comment, saying it is expanding existing operations in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, and has been “adding incremental notebook PC production” in Mexico.
