Worldwide PC shipments reached 71.9 million units in the second quarter of 2008, a 16 per cent increase from the second quarter of 2007, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc.
"Mobile PCs continued to lead unit growth across all regions as the average selling price (ASP) of mobile PCs declined sharply relative to desk-based PC ASPs," said Mika Kitagawa, principal analyst for Gartner's Client Computing Markets group. "Economic uncertainties have hit PC revenues, resulting in steep ASP declines, especially in markets such as the United States and the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region. The industry could ultimately see a significant wave of consolidation if stronger vendors continue to press their pricing advantage."
HP continued to maintain the No. 1 position with its worldwide PC shipment market share totaling 18.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2008 (see Table 1). HP's growth rate exceeded the industry average in the worldwide market, and its growth rate was little above the industry average in the US.
Dell had another strong quarter with worldwide PC shipments increasing 21.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2008 and its market share reaching 15.6 per cent. The company's growth was fueled by its expansion into retail and other indirect channels. Preliminary results showed Dell achieve over 40 per cent year-over-year growth in mobile shipments for two consecutive quarters.
PC shipments in the United States reached 16.5 million units in the second quarter of 2008, a 4.2 per cent increase from the same period last year. US PC shipments actually accelerated during the quarter, despite continuing US economic woes. However, this acceleration appears to have been achieved at the expense of revenues as vendors appear to have cut prices in response to those woes.
"Home mobile PCs continue to have momentum in the US market. However, ASP declines were greater here than in other segments. The retail space was a harsh pricing environment during the quarter," Ms Kitagawa said. "US professional units look to have been affected by tightening IT budgets as US business responded to growing economic uncertainty. Desk-based PCs gained traction among some professional users. Because desk-based PC deployment costs are still lower than that of mobile PCs, desk-based PCs provide a less expensive option for these buyers with tighter budgets."
Several mini-notebook PCs were introduced in the US market during the second quarter. However, this platform is still emerging and did not significantly contribute to overall shipment growth. Preliminary data shows the mini-notebook segment accounted for less than 3 per cent of US mobile PC shipments.
In the US PC market, Dell continued to be the market leader with PC shipments accounting for 31.9 per cent of the US market in the second quarter of 2008 (see Table 2). HP's growth rate was slightly ahead of the US average, and it appears HP's issues around inventory were resolved in the quarter. Apple's PC shipments grew 38.1 per cent in the quarter. The home PC segment continued to be the strongest driver for Apple, as well as sales into the education segment.
PC shipments in EMEA reached 23.1 million units in the second quarter of 2008, a 23.5 per cent increase from the same period in 2007 (see Table 3). In addition, EMEA exhibited the strongest year-over-year increase fuelling the worldwide growth.
"The PC market in EMEA has beaten off the economic anguish. We have only ever seen the PC market exhibit growth above 20 per cent once before in the past five years," said Ranjit Atwal, principal analyst for Gartner's Client Computing Markets group in EMEA. " However, the strong performance was mainly driven by declining average selling prices, which will impact revenues, margins and ultimately drive more consolidation," he added.
The mobile PC market continued to exhibit strong growth with demand for notebooks reaching more than 40 per cent growth. The desk-based market showed stronger increase than expected, which was primarily fuelled by the top three vendors.
For the first time, ASUS made its debut in the top five vendor rankings in EMEA. ASUS gained No.5 spot to the detriment of FSC, which had another weak quarter. ASUS grew organically and expanded its presence across EMEA as a result of strong mini-notebook sales, which represented 5 per cent of the mobile PC market shipments. "ASUS' entry in the EMEA PC market is testament to the growing penetration of Asia Pacific vendors in Europe," said Mr Atwal.
Acer posted a strong quarter by performing well above the average market growth, which confirms that the integration of the Packard Bell business is going well. Hewlett-Packard saw growth across all market segments, with very strong performance in consumer mobile PCs. For the first time since 2005, Dell's retail expansion across EMEA helped the company exhibit growth above 20 per cent for two consecutive quarters.
In Asia/Pacific, PC shipments totalled 20.1 million units, up 18.1 per cent from the second quarter of last year. In the professional market, there was not a significant slowdown in PC purchases as replacements and capital investments continued, benefiting multinational vendors such as HP, Dell and Lenovo. Mobile PC shipments grew 45.6 percent in the quarter.
PC shipments in Latin America grew 23.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2008, as shipments in the region reached 7 million units. White boxes are gaining new momentum with support by AMD, Intel and Microsoft. Notebook PCs posted 55 per cent growth in the quarter, while desk-based systems grew at an estimated 10 per cent.
In Japan, PC shipments reached 3.6 million units, an 8.2 per cent increase from the same period last year. Mobile PCs grew at a high single-digit to a low teen-digit rate, while desk-based PCs showed low single-digit growth. Replacement demand for commercial mobile PCs in large companies and sales of $500 mini-notebooks were two of the growth accelerators for the second quarter of 2008.
These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon to clients of Gartner's PC Quarterly Statistics Worldwide by Region program. This program offers a comprehensive and timely picture of the worldwide PC market, allowing product planning, distribution, marketing and sales organizations to keep abreast of key issues and their future implications around the globe. Additional research can be found on Gartner's Computing Hardware section on Gartner's Web site at http://www.gartner.com/....
"Mobile PCs continued to lead unit growth across all regions as the average selling price (ASP) of mobile PCs declined sharply relative to desk-based PC ASPs," said Mika Kitagawa, principal analyst for Gartner's Client Computing Markets group. "Economic uncertainties have hit PC revenues, resulting in steep ASP declines, especially in markets such as the United States and the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region. The industry could ultimately see a significant wave of consolidation if stronger vendors continue to press their pricing advantage."
HP continued to maintain the No. 1 position with its worldwide PC shipment market share totaling 18.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2008 (see Table 1). HP's growth rate exceeded the industry average in the worldwide market, and its growth rate was little above the industry average in the US.
Dell had another strong quarter with worldwide PC shipments increasing 21.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2008 and its market share reaching 15.6 per cent. The company's growth was fueled by its expansion into retail and other indirect channels. Preliminary results showed Dell achieve over 40 per cent year-over-year growth in mobile shipments for two consecutive quarters.
PC shipments in the United States reached 16.5 million units in the second quarter of 2008, a 4.2 per cent increase from the same period last year. US PC shipments actually accelerated during the quarter, despite continuing US economic woes. However, this acceleration appears to have been achieved at the expense of revenues as vendors appear to have cut prices in response to those woes.
"Home mobile PCs continue to have momentum in the US market. However, ASP declines were greater here than in other segments. The retail space was a harsh pricing environment during the quarter," Ms Kitagawa said. "US professional units look to have been affected by tightening IT budgets as US business responded to growing economic uncertainty. Desk-based PCs gained traction among some professional users. Because desk-based PC deployment costs are still lower than that of mobile PCs, desk-based PCs provide a less expensive option for these buyers with tighter budgets."
Several mini-notebook PCs were introduced in the US market during the second quarter. However, this platform is still emerging and did not significantly contribute to overall shipment growth. Preliminary data shows the mini-notebook segment accounted for less than 3 per cent of US mobile PC shipments.
In the US PC market, Dell continued to be the market leader with PC shipments accounting for 31.9 per cent of the US market in the second quarter of 2008 (see Table 2). HP's growth rate was slightly ahead of the US average, and it appears HP's issues around inventory were resolved in the quarter. Apple's PC shipments grew 38.1 per cent in the quarter. The home PC segment continued to be the strongest driver for Apple, as well as sales into the education segment.
PC shipments in EMEA reached 23.1 million units in the second quarter of 2008, a 23.5 per cent increase from the same period in 2007 (see Table 3). In addition, EMEA exhibited the strongest year-over-year increase fuelling the worldwide growth.
"The PC market in EMEA has beaten off the economic anguish. We have only ever seen the PC market exhibit growth above 20 per cent once before in the past five years," said Ranjit Atwal, principal analyst for Gartner's Client Computing Markets group in EMEA. " However, the strong performance was mainly driven by declining average selling prices, which will impact revenues, margins and ultimately drive more consolidation," he added.
The mobile PC market continued to exhibit strong growth with demand for notebooks reaching more than 40 per cent growth. The desk-based market showed stronger increase than expected, which was primarily fuelled by the top three vendors.
For the first time, ASUS made its debut in the top five vendor rankings in EMEA. ASUS gained No.5 spot to the detriment of FSC, which had another weak quarter. ASUS grew organically and expanded its presence across EMEA as a result of strong mini-notebook sales, which represented 5 per cent of the mobile PC market shipments. "ASUS' entry in the EMEA PC market is testament to the growing penetration of Asia Pacific vendors in Europe," said Mr Atwal.
Acer posted a strong quarter by performing well above the average market growth, which confirms that the integration of the Packard Bell business is going well. Hewlett-Packard saw growth across all market segments, with very strong performance in consumer mobile PCs. For the first time since 2005, Dell's retail expansion across EMEA helped the company exhibit growth above 20 per cent for two consecutive quarters.
In Asia/Pacific, PC shipments totalled 20.1 million units, up 18.1 per cent from the second quarter of last year. In the professional market, there was not a significant slowdown in PC purchases as replacements and capital investments continued, benefiting multinational vendors such as HP, Dell and Lenovo. Mobile PC shipments grew 45.6 percent in the quarter.
PC shipments in Latin America grew 23.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2008, as shipments in the region reached 7 million units. White boxes are gaining new momentum with support by AMD, Intel and Microsoft. Notebook PCs posted 55 per cent growth in the quarter, while desk-based systems grew at an estimated 10 per cent.
In Japan, PC shipments reached 3.6 million units, an 8.2 per cent increase from the same period last year. Mobile PCs grew at a high single-digit to a low teen-digit rate, while desk-based PCs showed low single-digit growth. Replacement demand for commercial mobile PCs in large companies and sales of $500 mini-notebooks were two of the growth accelerators for the second quarter of 2008.
These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon to clients of Gartner's PC Quarterly Statistics Worldwide by Region program. This program offers a comprehensive and timely picture of the worldwide PC market, allowing product planning, distribution, marketing and sales organizations to keep abreast of key issues and their future implications around the globe. Additional research can be found on Gartner's Computing Hardware section on Gartner's Web site at http://www.gartner.com/....
