Global PC shipments decline 2.4% in second quarter

MANILA, PHilippines - Worldwide shipments of personal computers fell 2.4 percent in the second quarter of 2009, while shipment value was down 19.1 percent over the same period, according to the International Data Corp. (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker.

Consumer portables were the only area of growth, with shipments increasing 44 percent from a year ago - rebounding from a low of 28 percent growth and approaching the 44 to 55 percent range of 2007 and 2008.

However, commercial portables growth remained depressed as it registered a 16- percent drop, and desktop volumes declined 17 percent as businesses limited spending and the market continued its shift to portable PCs. Within consumer portables, traditional notebooks recovered to 13 percent growth from almost no growth in the first quarter, but shipment value was down six percent.

The mini-notebook share of consumer portables was up to almost 26 percent from just five percent a year ago. With mini-notebooks averaging just over $400 each, compared to more than $900 for traditional notebooks, this shift is taking a toll on shipment value.

IDC said that going forward, the market should stabilize a bit for both units and value. Desktop volume will be roughly flat in 2010, while portable PC growth of 16.5 percent in 2010 will drive overall volume gains.

It expects mini-notebooks to continue growing, but the introduction of CULV-based systems should limit the share captured by mini-notebooks - and the resulting price erosion.

IDC projects portable PC shipments to increase at an average rate of over 17 percent through 2013 (compound annual growth rate 2009-2013), driving more than 11 percent average growth in total PC shipments and almost five percent in shipment value.

“Although mini-notebooks have hurt margins of traditional notebooks, we can expect Ultrathin Notebooks based on new low voltage processors from Intel and AMD to somewhat stem the tide,” according to Jay Chou, research analyst, IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker.