Due to the increasing cost of industry plastic material and intense competition, profit margins of mice and keyboards became thinner in 2004. As a result, some makers decided to quit the line at the end of 2004 and in early 2005. Several others diverted their manufacturing efforts to other product lines.
However, the low technology requirement for mouse and keyboard manufacturing means that more makers will enter this product line once the external environment becomes favorable.

In fact, exports of computer input devices by mainland China makers are expected to climb 15 percent to 491 million units in 2005, according to the China Customs Statistics.

Approximately 90 percent of mouse and keyboard manufacturers are located in Guangdong province, mainly in the cities of Shenzhen, Dongguan and Zhuhai.

Almost all the top Taiwan computer input device makers have set up their factories in mainland China, especially in Guangdong province and Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

Altogether, there are more than 100 Taiwan makers of mice and keyboards. To maintain their proficiency, some makers only focus on in-house keyboard or mouse production. They may have subcontractors to manufacture either keyboards or mice for them.

Mainland China makers, on the other hand, prefer to take less risk by adopting a strategy to diversify their product lineup. Many of them also produce other computer peripherals such as PC cameras, multimedia speakers, PC cases and other digital products. This strategy allows them to share their workforce and equipment like plastic injection machine across different product lines.

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All information contained in China Sourcing Reports is the result of exclusive, ground-level and definitive research conducted by Global Sources' analysts. Companies featured in these reports may or may not be clients of Global Sources.