Sales of personal computers were hit by the global economic slowdown last year, showing their first yearly decline since 1985, but analysts said a fourth-quarter buying spurt is reason for optimism.
Gartner Dataquest reported Friday that worldwide PC shipments totaled 128 million units last year, a 4.6 percent decline from 2000. In the US, sales fell 11.1 percent to 44 million units, the research firm said.
"The PC industry has not experienced such a difficult year since 1985 when worldwide PC shipments declined 2.3 percent, and US PC shipments dropped 21.8 percent," Dataquest said in a statement.
The figures confirmed a survey from International Data Corp, which said fourth-quarter global PC sales were down 6.7 percent from the same period a year earlier, to 34.2 million.
But IDC said the fourth quarter showed improvement, up 16.9 percent, over a dreadful third quarter.
"Hard times persist in the PC market, but vendors are working diligently to stimulate growth and the outlook has started to improve in the United States and Europe," said IDC analyst Loren Loverde.
`Seeds of recovery are being sown'
"We don't expect a rapid turnaround, but the seeds of recovery are being sown. Depending on the economic environment, growth in the PC market may pick up more rapidly toward the end of the year."
Dell was the only major manufacturer to exhibit sales growth, with its worldwide shipments up 18.3 percent as it moved past Compaq to become the leading vendor, Dataquest said.
According to IDC, the only region of the world to show year-on-year growth in the fourth quarter was the Asia Pacific region excluding Japan.
But IDC said the sequential growth figure -- comparing the fourth quarter to the prior quarter -- provides a better indicator of the market's performance, with current sales "only slightly behind the average fourth-quarter sequential growth rate" of 19.8 percent from 1995 through 2000.
In the US, the fourth quarter was 10.1 percent lower than a year ago, but up 6.1 percent from the third quarter.
"US consumers finally pulled out some of the stops in the fourth quarter," said Roger Kay at IDC.
"After four quarters of subdued buying, consumers in the United States ended the year with a burst of activity, particularly in retail."
Dataquest analysts were more guarded in their outlook, expecting worldwide PC shipments to decline four percent in the first quarter of 2002 but to finish the year with a growth rate of 4 percent.
"While there is a mood of optimism in the industry, having made it through the bloodbath that was 2001, evidence for an immediate improvement in the first quarter of 2002 is far from clear," Charles Smulders said.
"On the positive side, it does not appear that the market is getting worse. We do not expect to see a significant upturn in growth until the fourth quarter of 2002. This based on an economic upturn in the second half of the year."
Separately, Dell issued an optimistic outlook for its own sales saying it expects shipments to show 50 percent sequential growth in the consumer market and revenue growth of about 40 percent for the quarter ending Feb. 1.
The Chien Feng IV (勁蜂, Mighty Hornet) loitering munition is on track to enter flight tests next month in connection with potential adoption by Taiwanese and US armed forces, a government source said yesterday. The kamikaze drone, which boasts a range of 1,000km, debuted at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in September, the official said on condition of anonymity. The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and US-based Kratos Defense jointly developed the platform by leveraging the engine and airframe of the latter’s MQM-178 Firejet target drone, they said. The uncrewed aerial vehicle is designed to utilize an artificial intelligence computer
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday decided to shelve proposed legislation that would give elected officials full control over their stipends, saying it would wait for a consensus to be reached before acting. KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) last week proposed amendments to the Organic Act of the Legislative Yuan (立法院組織法) and the Regulations on Allowances for Elected Representatives and Subsidies for Village Chiefs (地方民意代表費用支給及村里長事務補助費補助條例), which would give legislators and councilors the freedom to use their allowances without providing invoices for reimbursement. The proposal immediately drew criticism, amid reports that several legislators face possible charges of embezzling fees intended to pay
REQUIREMENTS: The US defense secretary must submit a Taiwan security assistance road map and an appraisal of Washington’s ability to respond to Indo-Pacific conflict The US Congress has released a new draft of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes up to US$1 billion in funding for Taiwan-related security cooperation next year. The version published on Sunday by US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson removed earlier language that would have invited Taiwan to participate in the US-led Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC). A statement on Johnson’s Web page said the NDAA “enhances U.S. defense initiatives in the Indo-Pacific to bolster Taiwan’s defense and support Indo-Pacific allies.” The bill would require the US secretary of defense to “enable fielding of uncrewed and anti-uncrewed systems capabilities”
Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating yesterday, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters. Reporters on the Thai side of the border heard sounds of outgoing, indirect fire yesterday. About 400,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas in Thailand and about 700 schools closed while fighting was ongoing in four border provinces, said Thai Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesman for the military. Cambodia evacuated more than 127,000 villagers and closed hundreds of schools, the Thai Ministry of Defense said. Thailand’s military announced that
RSS