PC shipments worldwide grow 16 percent
By Michael Kanellos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
October 20, 2000, 11:25 a.m. PT
Although demand was more tepid than average, the PC market managed to grow approximately 16 percent in the third quarter.
Worldwide PC shipments grew by 15.2 percent in the third quarter, according to market research firm Dataquest, while competitor IDC reported that shipments grew by 18.3 percent. Averaging the two, shipment growth came in between 16 percent and 17 percent, according to a report from Merrill Lynch analyst Steve Fortuna.
As in the second quarter, demand from overseas markets, particularly Asia, paced the market. U.S. shipments grew slower than the worldwide figure.
"We think these results are good, in line with our expectations, and think we are set up for a good" fourth quarter, Fortuna wrote. "It appears that Asia/Pacific and Japan drove much of the strength in (the third quarter). Europe does not appear to be particularly strong and we expect the U.S. was stronger than Europe."
The consumer market also continued to grow in importance. In the United States and Japan, the consumer market was larger than the corporate market again, noted Roger Kay, an IDC analyst. In the rest of the world, the consumer market was smaller but grew at a faster rate than the corporate market.
The shipment figures provide fodder for both PC pessimists and optimists. On the positive side, the PC market is still growing. However, it's not growing as fast as it once was. From 1994 to 1999, the PC market in the United States on average grew by 20 percent in the third quarter.
Then again, the market has oscillated with strong third quarters followed by slow ones in the succeeding year. Last year, the market grew by 22.4 percent, according to IDC--above the average.
The full reports from Dataquest and IDC will be officially released Monday. Fortuna included the data in a report from Merrill Lynch this morning. |
