Apple's Phil Schiller told London's Independent earlier this month that Apple received more orders on their online store for the MacBook Pro than any previous model. Today we learn in a Taiwanese supply chain report that replacement demand for business-use Windows 10 models and strong sales of new MacBook Pro products will also keep Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs) busy in the first quarter of 2017. In fact Quanta Computer, the sole producer of MacBook Pro products, expects its notebook shipments to be better than expected in the fourth quarter of 2016 and will only slip a percentage point of two in Q1 2017 according to Quanta's vice chairman CC Leung.

The greater than normal demand however for next-gen notebooks is creating a shortage of key components. The report further noted that "some brand vendors have been pulling in more orders on short supply of some key components, including display panels, memory products and graphics cards.

More specifically, the report noted that "Current supply of some key components are falling short of demand by 20%, and therefore some shipments have been delayed to the first quarter of 2017, a traditional off-peak season for the notebook industry.

Prices for notebook-use panels are also rising, notably the quotes from Innolux, as the supply of notebook displays has been squeezed by strong demand for panels from TV vendors, the sources noted.

The replacement demand for Windows 10 business models that has begun since the second half of 2016 will continue to gain momentum in 2017, added the sources.

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