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PC shipments post gains despite slowdown in US

Anemic US growth did not prevent computer makers from posting another double-digit gain in shipments worldwide in the first quarter, said two technology research firms that also said the increase beat their forecasts.

IDC and Gartner Inc on Wednesday also said Dell Inc’s recent initiative to offer computers in retail stores is helping it gain ground on Hewlett-Packard Co, which wrestled the title of world’s largest PC maker from Dell.

Both firms ranked Dell the US market leader, however, with about 31 percent of the market to HP’s nearly 25 percent.

Even with growth in US sales slowing to around 3 percent, overseas gains boosted global first-quarter PC shipments 14.6 percent, IDC said, and to 12.3 percent by Gartner’s count.

That’s because the US accounted for just 23 percent of global shipments in the first quarter compared with 25 percent a year ago.

“Even if there is a particularly bad US market, it’s becoming a smaller piece of the global puzzle,” said Bob O’Donnell, an IDC vice president.

IDC estimated HP’s global market share at 19.1 percent and Dell’s share at 15.7 percent. Gartner estimated an 18.3 percent share for HP, compared to 14.9 percent for Dell.

According to IDC, Apple Inc claimed a 6 percent share of the US computer market in the first quarter, while Gartner saw Apple with a 6.6 percent share. Both research firms ranked Apple fourth in US market share after Dell, HP and Taiwan-based Acer Inc. Acer ranked third worldwide too.

Apple posted strong shipment growth in the US at 25.1 percent, IDC said, while Gartner said it saw 32.5 percent growth.

IDC and Gartner measure sales differently, and their results usually differ.

The first-quarter numbers beat both firms’ forecasts by greater than a percentage point.

“There were a lot of questions about whether the US economy would impact other regions, and clearly the answer was ‘no,’” O’Donnell said.

Portable computers for the consumer market drove much of the global increase, O’Donnell said.

IDC said shipments in January through last month rose to 69.5 million, up from 60.6 million a year earlier. Gartner counted 71.1 million shipments in the first quarter, compared with 63.3 million a year ago.

IDC said the sagging US economy slowed the growth in US computer shipments growth to 3.5 percent, compared with 8.8 percent in last year’s fourth quarter. IDC also said last quarter’s US growth was the slowest since the fourth quarter of 2006, when the rate was flat.

Gartner put the latest quarter’s growth at 3 percent.

Double-digit global Q1 followed gains of nearly 17 percent in last year’s third and fourth quarters.

Gartner said the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America posted the world’s fastest growth rates last quarter, both about 19 percent, while sales in the region that includes the Middle East and Africa grew 14.9 percent.

The competition between HP and Dell for the title of world’s biggest PC maker heated up in the first quarter, in part because of Dell’s recent success selling through large retail chains.

The competition between HP and Dell for the title of world’s biggest PC maker heated up in the first quarter, in part because of Dell’s recent success selling through large retail chains such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Staples Inc — a departure from Dell’s original direct-to-customer model.HP’s shipments grew 17.4 percent by IDC’s count and 17.5 percent by Gartner’s.

Acer’s global market share was 9.9 percent, up from 6.9 percent a year ago and China’s Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) was fourth, with a 6.9 percent share, up from 6.6 percent a year ago, IDC said.

Both research firms ranked Japan-based Toshiba Corp fifth, with a roughly 4 percent share.
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