Earlier this summer it appeared that Asus was experiencing a shortfall in its Eee PC "netbook" sales, with shipments falling below expections for the first half of this year. Despite this, Chinese news wire Commercial Times reports that Eee PC shipments for September are actually the highest yet for Asus, hitting 700,000 units. Total third quarter Eee PC shipments are expected to hit 1.7 million units. The report notes that we're hitting the peak months of the year (October and November), so Asus might be able to maintain this momentum into the fourth quarter.

Currently, Asustek's Eee PC gross margins are between 15-20%. But since Acer has started to increase its netbook shipments, market watchers expect Asustek to adjust margins down to around 15% in oder to counter. However, the company denied the speculation saying margins will remain steady and that shipments of 10-inch Eee PC models will start to pick up in the fourth quarter, added the paper.

Of course, shipments are one portion of the pie. What should prove to be a better indicator of the Eee PC brand performance are actual sales figures.