PC shipments: recovery still not in sight
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PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2001 showed no signs of a recovery, declining 5.1% for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
PC shipments in the fourth quarter of 2001 showed no signs of a recovery, declining by 5.1% in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Healthy double-digit growth at second-place supplier Dell, and a high level of demand at small- and medium-sized businesses did little overall to abate the decline, according to figures from IDC.
Corporate sales were badly affected by constraints on IT budgets, that left companies with little margin for further IT investments. Analysts at IDC add that they expect a cautious recovery over the coming months among corporate customers, however. They also suggest that, to offset the additional drop in demand from consumers, PC vendors need to do more to encourage upgrades.
Consolidation continued as the top five vendors increased their market share to 46.8%. Compaq remains the top ranking supplier in terms of units shipped, despite a 9.9% fall in shipments compared with the fourth quarter of 2000.
The market was slightly lifted by strong year-on-year growth at Dell (16.7%) and Hewlett-Packard (9.5%), but German PC vendor Fujitsu-Siemens fell two places in the vendor rankings to fourth, hit by a 6.7% decline in shipments year-on-year. IBM had a very poor quarter, with units shipped declining by 27.1% from the fourth quarter of 2000, forcing it into fifth place.
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