The global PC market is forecast to grow significantly this year from last year, but at a slower pace than previously expected due to continued supply chain and logistics challenges, research firm International Data Corp (IDC) said last week.
Worldwide PC shipments are forecast to increase 14.2 percent on an annual basis to 347 million units this year, due to demand from the business and education sectors, IDC’s latest estimate showed on Tuesday last week.
IDC, which categorizes PCs as desktops, notebooks and workstations, said the new estimate was lower than its May forecast of an annual growth of 18 percent, due to component shortages and logistics issues, as well as declining demand for devices for working from home as more people return to the office amid rising COVID-19 vaccination rates.
Photo courtesy of Acer Inc
The tablet market is also expected to grow this year, but at a much slower pace of 3.4 percent, the Massachusetts-based research firm said in a report.
The forecast was echoed by PC vendors HP Inc and Dell Technologies Inc, as both on Thursday said that supply constraints continued to hold back shipments, while chipmaker Intel Corp last month said that a semiconductor shortage would likely persist throughout the year.
IDC mobile device tracker program vice president Ryan Reith said in a statement that “the PC and tablet markets are supply constrained and that demand is still there.”
The supply constraints are mainly related to panels and ICs, IDC said.
“The lengthening of the supply shortages combined with ongoing logistical issues are presenting the industry with some big challenges,” Reith said. “However, we believe the vast majority of PC demand is nonperishable, especially from the business and education sectors.”
Worldwide, 280 million units were shipped last year, up 11 percent from the previous year, driven by telecommuting and online education demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic, IDC said.
From this year to 2025, PC shipments are expected to increase by a compound annual growth rate of 3.2 percent, led by laptop sales, while tablet shipments are predicted to decline by a compound annual growth rate of 1.5 percent over the same period, IDC said.
Although a level of normalcy in people’s daily lives would return after the pandemic is brought under control, and demand for videoconferencing would wane in advanced countries such as the US and European nations, demand for commercial laptops and desktops is expected to grow, Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) said in a research note on Aug. 18.
PC shipments are expected to slow from the second half of this year to the first half of next year as work-from-home demand subsides, Yuanta said.
Demand would accelerate again in the second half of next year due to the end of inventory destocking and Nvidia Corp’s biennial upgrades to its graphics processing units (GPUs), it said.
“We forecast notebook shipments to grow 13.1 percent year-on-year to 227 million units in 2021,” Yuanta said. “We estimate notebook shipments will be flat in 2022, as rising demand for commercial products and shipment growth for gaming products boosted by Nvidia’s biennial GPU overhaul should offset weakening work-from-home demand.”
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
UNCERTAINTIES: The world’s biggest chip packager and tester is closely monitoring the US’ tariff policy before making any capacity adjustments, a company official said ASE Technology Holding Inc (日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packager and tester, yesterday said it is cautiously evaluating new advanced packaging capacity expansion in the US in response to customers’ requests amid uncertainties about the US’ tariff policy. Compared with its semiconductor peers, ASE has been relatively prudent about building new capacity in the US. However, the company is adjusting its global manufacturing footprint expansion after US President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal” tariffs in April, and new import duties targeting semiconductors and other items that are vital to national security. ASE subsidiary Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) is participating in Nvidia