Soaring component costs force laptop makers to rethink shift away from China: report

Notebook manufacturers are being forced to rethink their shift out of China and consider moving production back to the manufacturing hub, as skyrocketing component costs squeeze profit margins, according to market research firm TrendForce.

The Taiwan-based firm projected that the share of global notebook production outside mainland China would decline to 21 per cent this year from about 24 per cent in 2025, and drop below 20 per cent in 2027.

“This suggests that brands are reassessing the balance between supply-chain diversification and manufacturing efficiency as policy and cost conditions evolve,” TrendForce said in a report released on Thursday.

Over the past few years, major laptop vendors have expanded their manufacturing footprints outside China to hedge against trade tariffs and geopolitical friction.