Laptop manufacturers are in talks with leading vendors as spiralling manufacturing costs are set to drive up the retail price of notebooks by the end of the year.

The world's top three laptop contract assemblers Quanta, Compal and Wistron, are holding discussions with customers including Dell, Acer and HP to voice concerns about recent increases in the costs of assembly and materials including cobalt, copper, nickel and plastic.

Manufacturers have previously borne the brunt of rising costs from suppliers and pleas to their customers to raise prices have fallen on deaf ears. But now the big vendors seem willing to bow to mounting pressure and Compal chief executive Ray Chen told an investors' conference he expected the cost to his customers to increase during this quarter. The cost to consumers would begin to be felt shortly thereafter.

“We are facing heavier pressure this quarter from our component suppliers, who are requesting price hikes, we are seeing this happening lately,” Chen was quoted as saying in the Taipei Times. “We are in close talks with our customers about price adjustments to pass on rising component prices at a proper time and we have some confidence."