Acer Inc (宏碁) and Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) saw their shipments for the third quarter of this year soar at double-digit percentages, with growth rates topping those of their rivals, global market information advisory firm Gartner Inc said.
Data compiled by Gartner last week showed that Acer shipped 5.09 million PCs in the July-to-September period, up 29.5 percent from a year earlier to grasp a 7.1 percent global market share, and rank as the world’s fifth-biggest PC vendor.
Asustek’s PC shipments rose to 4.75 million units, up 12.9 percent from a year earlier, to take a 6.7 percent market share and the sixth place in the world’s computer industry.
The growth in shipments by Acer and Asustek beat the global average increase of 3.6 percent in the third quarter, when worldwide shipments hit 71.38 million units, the data showed.
Gartner attributed the growth in sales to solid demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which boosted the work-from-home economy.
The strong demand was driven by distance learning due to the pandemic, especially in the US education market, the advisory firm said.
In the US, PC shipments in the third quarter grew 11.4 percent from a year earlier, the strongest rise in 10 years, Gartner said, adding that Acer enjoyed a 52 percent year-on-year growth in the US during the three-month period, with shipments reaching 713,000 units.
“This quarter had the strongest consumer PC demand that Gartner has seen in five years,” Gartner research director Mikako Kitagawa said in a statement.
“The market is no longer being measured in the number of PCs per household; rather, the dynamics have shifted to account for one PC per person,” Kitagawa said.
“While PC supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19 have been largely resolved, this quarter saw shortages of key components, such as panels, as a result of this high consumer demand,” Kitagawa added.
As for the other top performing PC vendors’ worldwide sales, Lenovo Group Inc (聯想) shipped 18.31 million units in the third quarter, up 8.3 percent from the same period a year earlier, and its 25.7 percent market share remained the highest in the market, Gartner said.
US-based HP Inc came in second with shipments of 15.45 million PCs, up 0.7 percent from a year earlier, accounting for 21.6 percent of global shipments, the data showed.
Bucking the upturn in the global PC market, third place holder Dell Inc saw its shipments fall 4.6 percent in the quarter to 10.83 million units, accounting for 15.2 percent of global shipments, it showed.
Apple Inc took the fourth spot, shipping 5.51 million units, up 7.3 percent from a year earlier, for a 7.7 percent market share, the data showed.
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