From Dell Co news<
FRAMINGHAM, Mass., June 9 (Reuters) - Hampered by inventory
problems and weakness in Asia, growth in the global personal
computer market is expected to slow in the second quarter, a
leading technology research firm said on Tuesday.
Global PC unit volume is expected to grow by only 9 percent
in the second quarter, according to International Data Corp,
which is based in Framingham, Mass.
IDC said worldwide PC shipments grew by 11 percent in the
first quarter, and by 15 percent in all of 1997.
The "lukewarm" outlook is related to a continued downturn
in Asia, a soft portable PC market and ongoing supply issues in
the United States.
"Inventory problems have slowed channel ordering and also
induced a more conservative stance on PC manufacturing," IDC's
Bruce Stephen said in a statement.
Second-quarter unit shipments in the United States are seen
rising by 14 percent. But severe price pressure will limit
revenue and profit growth for most PC vendors.
"While the inventory situation may improve, slower market
growth, expansion of the low-cost PC market and heightened
competition among CPU suppliers will all catalyze an ongoing
price war," Stephen said.
In Western Europe, the PC market is expected to grow by 14
percent in the quarter, driven by the low-cost PCs, improving
economies in France and Germany and a greater focus from global
PC brands.
The outlook for Asia -- excluding Japan -- continues to be
weak as demand in Southeast Asia and Korea shows no sign of
recovery, IDC said. Economic sanctions recently placed on India
will also hurt the market.
IDC said it expects second-quarter unit shipments in the
region to show slight negative growth. Its 1998 market outlook
has been lowered slightly to 5 percent.
The Japanese PC market is seen growing 2 percent in 1998,
with negative growth in the second quarter.
Compaq Computer Corp. <CPQ.N>, International Business
Machines Corp. <IBM.N> and Dell Computer Corp. <DELL.O>,
respectively, remained the top three global PC vendors, based
on unit shipments, IDC said.
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