Taiwan PC makers did not shift as much equipment as expected in March, preliminary research from Merrill Lynch suggests. Motherboard shipments look set to be 12% to 13% up on February, well under the 17% rise originally expected. However, notebooks should hit the 20% growth rate expected.

Overall, growth should be around 13%, compared to the original 13% to 14% forecast. For the first quarter as a whole, unit shipments will be down 7% to 8%, worse than the usual seasonal drop of 3% to 5%.

The news will not exactly cheer a PC industry that has been waiting for an upturn since 2000. However, Merrill Lynch adds that the market was not helped by high prices and shortages during the quarter.

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