El Segundo, Calif. — Global PC shipments grew 22.7 percent in the first quarter, marking the highest year-over-year growth in a quarter ever recorded by iSuppli Corp. thanks to strong sales from Asian OEMs. Shipments in the first quarter totaled 81.5 million units, up from 66.5 million during the same period in 2009, reported the market research firm.
iSuppli’s worldwide PC forecast calls for unit shipment growth of 17 percent in 2010, with increased demand for notebooks but flat growth for the desktop segment.
“The first three months of 2010 delivered the highest quarterly PC shipment growth on a year-over-year basis since iSuppli began tracking the market in 2003,” said Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst for compute platforms at iSuppli, in a statement. “This record growth resulted from strong sales in the first quarter of 2010 combined with weak conditions during the first three months of 2009. Early 2009 represented one of the weakest periods in the history of the PC market, as consumer and corporate demand plunged due to the economic downturn. With economic conditions improving, PC sales rebounded in early 2010.”
The report, “PC Market: Ready to Build on 2009’s Success,” reveals the strongest year-over-year growth among the Top 10 OEMs was posted by Asian OEMs including ASUSTeK Computer Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Lenovo Group Ltd. and Acer Inc.
According to the report, No. 6-ranked ASUSTeK of Taiwan led the way, with its shipments growing 136.2 percent compared to the first quarter of 2009. South Korea’s Samsung, in eighth place, posted the second-best performance, with its shipments rising by 83.9 percent, followed by fourth-ranked Lenovo of China with 58.5 percent higher shipments.
No. 2-ranked Acer of Taiwan posted the fourth-best results among the Top 10 PC OEMs, with its shipments rising by 47.1 percent on a year-over-year basis, giving the PC maker a 13.3 percent share of the global market, up from 11.1 percent a year earlier, and closing the gap with leading PC OEM Hewlett-Packard Co. to just 6.3 percentage points in the first quarter, down from 8.5 points a year earlier, reports iSuppli.
“The rise of Asian OEMs at the expense of longtime U.S. leaders like Hewlett-Packard and Dell Inc. represents a historic shift in the PC market,” Wilkins stated. “The rise of the Chinese consumer economy along with Asia’s increasing dominance in electronics manufacturing is spurring a fundamental shift in regional balance of power in the PC market.”
Hewlett-Packard and former No. 2 PC OEM Dell slightly underperformed the market, with their shipments rising by 22.2 and 21.8 percent, respectively, from a year earlier.
The one U.S. PC OEM that outperformed the PC market in the first quarter was No. 7-ranked Apple Inc., whose shipments rose by 32.4 percent from a year earlier, said Wilkens.
The report also reveals that the desktop PC market in the first quarter achieved year-on-year growth for the first time on a quarterly basis since the second quarter of 2008, but shipments grew by only 1 percent. In contrast, notebook shipments increased by 26.5 percent, driving stronger-than-expected overall growth for the PC market, said iSuppli.