Dell and HP plan to gradually shift PC production capacity out of China

In recent years, two major manufacturers in the global PC industry, HP and Dell, have successively announced major supply chain adjustment plans involving large-scale migration of production capacity in China. This move not only reflects the company's consideration of geopolitical risks, but also triggered extensive discussions in the industry about the future transformation of the global PC manufacturing landscape.

According to a report in August 2024, HP plans to move more than 50% of PC production out of China in the next two to three years, with Thailand as the main destination. At the same time, HP is recruiting about 200 electrical and mechanical engineers and supply chain experts in Singapore to build Singapore into an alternative design center, which will be responsible for new product development and maintain contact with the supply chain. There are also internal sources that HP has set a long-term goal of moving 70% of its laptop production capacity out of China. To this end, at least five HP suppliers are actively building new manufacturing plants or storage centers in Thailand, two of which have responded to HP's needs since the beginning of 2024 and have begun to increase production capacity.

Coincidentally, Dell has also announced a similar plan. According to reports, in order to respond to Dell's goals, the entire laptop supply chain has been put into action. The world's largest laptop power supplier, Qundian, originally built a Thai factory to meet customer needs, which was put into use in June 2024. It is understood that Qundian will also consider whether to transfer part of its production capacity to Thailand, including the transformer production line, a key component of the power supply.

Analysts pointed out that HP and Dell's supply chain adjustment plans show that risk reduction has become the key to their future strategies. As the technology industry pays more attention to supply chain resilience, this trend may herald the redistribution of global electronics manufacturing bases, with India, Southeast Asia and Latin America expected to become emerging manufacturing centers. Although these measures may bring challenges of rising costs and declining efficiency in the short term, in the long run, the diversification of supply chains will help companies resist the uncertainties brought about by geopolitical fluctuations, and may also prompt China's manufacturing industry to further transform and upgrade and find new growth points.