U.S. PC shipments grow in Q1, Dell tops--Dataquest
By Allen Wan, CBS Marketwatch
U.S. PC shipments grew in the first quarter from year-ago levels, while global shipments were flat, a Dataquest survey showed. The data marked a turnaround for the PC market as U.S. and global PC shipments had contracted in the last two quarters. Still, the research group said that PC shipments remain sluggish and that the outlook for PC shipments remains uncertain. "First quarter 2002 growth rates are based upon weak market performances in the same quarter a year ago and therefore, despite the apparently better growth rate figures, in reality, both the U.S. and worldwide markets remain sluggish," said Charles Smulders, vice president of Gartner Dataquest's Computing Platforms Worldwide group. "At best, these numbers suggest the market is returning to more normal seasonal growth patterns, but with little evidence of return to growth in the large accounts segment, the market outlook for 2002 remains highly uncertain U.S. PC shipments rose 2.3 percent in the quarter to 11.1 million units, while worldwide PC shipments totaled 32.7 million units in the first quarter -- flat from the same period last year. Dell (DELL) , the world's top PC maker, was the only PC company to report growth in the first quarter, stretching its market lead over its competitors as shipments surged 13.7 percent. |
