PC shipments down less than expected in Q1, US proves resilient
The PC industry proves it is down but not out in Q1, with unit shipment declines coming in lower than previous estimates on portable PC demand.
By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News -- EDN, April 16, 2009
While the numbers vary a bit, Gartner and IDC agree that the Q1 worldwide PC shipment decline was cushioned by an increase in portable units shipped, particularly in the United States, and that Hewlett-Packard showed growth in the March quarter, allowing it to firm up its place at the top PC vendor.
According to Gartner's preliminary estimates, worldwide PC shipments totaled 67.2 million units in Q1, a 6.5% decline versus Q1 2008. IDC reported that worldwide PC shipments were down 7.1% year over year in Q1, which was better than the previous IDC projected decline of 8.2% for the quarter. Both market research companies stated that portable PCs (laptops and netbooks/mini notebooks) helped ease the Q1 shipment fall as economic pressures continue to weigh on consumers minds.
“Tight credit and economic concerns have certainly taken a toll on PC shipments in the last couple quarters, but the move to portables, fueled by mini notebooks and falling prices, has mitigated the impact,” said Loren Loverde, program director for IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, in a statement made Wednesday. "Following a drawdown in inventory throughout the supply chain, we expect more stable production over the next couple quarters, with growth returning around the end of the year.”
The falling PC prices are of concern. While they have helped keep the PC industry afloat and have increased in sales, those sales are lower in revenue.
“Low-priced mobile PCs continued to be the growth driver for the PC industry in most regions,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner, in a statement from the company also made Wednesday. “However, we anticipate a sharp decline in industry revenues due to the lower average selling prices (ASPs) of these devices.
“Mini notebooks did well in the challenging economic environment where consumers’ number one priority was to save money,” she continued. “Mini notebooks continued to put pressure on low-priced mobile PCs. This pressure was mainly felt in the consumer market, but it expanded into select professional markets, as well, including the education segment. US mobile PC ASP likely will decline as much as 20% year-over-year in first quarter 2009. Overall, end user spending on PCs is likely to have contracted in the upper teens in first quarter 2009 compared to a year ago.”
What isn't declining is HP's overall PC market lead. The OEM managed 2.6% year-over-year unit shipment growth according to Gartner and 2.9% year-over-year unit shipment growth according to IDC in Q1, securing its top shipment position. By Gartner's estimates, HP shipped 13.305 million units in Q1 for 19.8% market share. According to IDC, HP shipped 13.001 million units in Q1 for 20.5% total market share.*
As a comparison, number two ranked Dell saw a year-over-year unit shipment decline of 16.9% with 8.789 million PCs shipped in Q1, according to Gartner. IDC reported Dell shipped 8.651 million units in the March quarter, a 16.7% year-over-year unit shipment decline.*
Both market research companies also made special note of the United States' resilience compared to the overall PC market's decline in Q1. Gartner reported that PC shipments in the US totaled 15.3 million units in Q1, a 0.3% decline versus Q1 2008. Shipments were stronger than expected thanks to strong growth in low-priced mobile PCs, the company said. IDC reported that the US saw shipments fall 3% year over year in Q1.
“We are seeing some evidence of channel inventory restocking, particularly in the US,” said George Shiffler, research director at Gartner, in the company's statement. “This restocking should not be interpreted as a recovery in PC end-user demand; it’s still unclear if the global PC market has hit the bottom.”
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Thank you, J Jones. The shipment numbers you note were originally misstated in thousands. The figures have been corrected to reflect millions of units shipped.
Suzanne Deffree - 2009-20-4 17:17:00 PDT -
Dell only shipped 8789 PCs? That seems very low ...
J Jones - 2009-17-4 12:59:00 PDT
