By the end of the first quarter Asustek and Gigabyte may raise the price of motherboards by up to 10% to offset rising prices for used copper in their production and rising labor costs of Chinese workers.
Over the past year rise in prices for motherboards have already occurred twice: 5-10% at the beginning of the first quarter, and 3.8% in April, and in the second case served as a catalyst component shortages caused by the earthquake in Japan. Wholesale price of copper on the international market has grown this year by 7.5%. Rising labor costs in China since the beginning of this year ranged from 8.6% to 14.3%, depending on the region.
In this case Asustek and Gigabyte are optimistic and expect to increase shipments of motherboards in the first quarter by 10% and 20%, respectively.