PC Market is Hot, Acer Closing in On HP
The global PC market has never been more explosive, according to market research company iSuppli Corp. While Hewlett-Packard remains the top dog, Acer and Dell are quickly catching up.
In total, 81.5 million PC units were shipped in the first quarter of 2010, up 22.7 percent from 66.5 million in the same period last year.
“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.
“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.”
HP ranked as No.1 worldwide, shipping out 16.0 million PCs in the first quarter, up 22.2 percent from 13.1 million last year, giving it a 19.6 percent market share.
Acer was second with 10.9 million units shipped, up 47.1 percent from 7.4 units in the same quarter last year, giving it a 13.3 percent market share. Its success is partly due to its focus on the notebook market, which is the fastest-growing segment of the PC market, according to iSuppli.
Dell was third with 10.7 million units shipped, up 21.8 percent from 8.8 units in the first quarter of 2009, giving it a market share of 13.1 percent.
Lenovo was fourth with 8.6 percent of the market, as the number of its units shipped (7.0 million) rose 58.5 percent year-over-year. Toshiba followed with 5.6 percent of the market, as its units shipped (4.6 million) rose 31.2 percent.
ASUS was sixth with a 5.4 percent market share, as the number of its units shipped (4.4 million) rose 136.2 percent. Apple was seventh with 3.4 percent of the market, as the number of its units shipped (2.8 million) rose 32.4 percent.
The marked success of Asian OEMs reflects a “historic shift in the PC Market,” according to Wilkins. “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.”
Shipments of desktop PCs grew 1 percent, the first positive year-over-year quarter since the second quarter of 2008, according to iSuppli.
The company forecasts unit shipment growth of 17 percent in 2010, thanks to increased demand for notebooks.
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