Orders from the supply chain are said to have been halved, from an estimated 4m units, which Microsoft expected to sell by the end of the year, to 2m units, said Taiwan's DigiTimes website.
Asus, Samsung and Dell are also experiencing "weak" sales of Windows 8 tablets, sources said. On Wednesday, Asus's chief finance officer, David Chang, revealed that "demand for Windows 8 is not that good right now".
Backed by a multimillion-dollar ad campaign, Surface was designed in-house by Microsoft as a showcase for Windows 8, the latest version of its best-selling software redesigned for the touch screen.
Microsoft declined to comment on Surface. The company said this week it has sold 40m Windows 8 licences since the launch, outstripping sales of Windows 7.
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