PC industry growth seen accelerating
By Binti Harvey, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 2:47 PM ET Dec 8, 1998
NewsWatch
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (CBS.MW) -- The current seasonal uptick for PC
manufacturers may be a preview of accelerating growth through 1999,
according to a report from International Data Corp.
The Massachusetts-based market research firm said
it expects global PC unit shipments to grow 11.1
percent to 89.2 million in 1998, increasing to 100.6
million, up12.8 percent, in 1999.
IDC attributes the bullish outlook to continued
strength in the Western European and U.S. markets
and a slight rebound in Asia/Pacific and Japan. The
firm cited increasing confidence in the German
market and an improving outlook for Asia/Pacific and
Japan.
The firm projects PC unit volume will jump 12.2
percent year-over-year in the current quarter. "The
fourth-quarter worldwide market is being led by a big
seasonal upswing in buying in Western Europe, a
robust U.S. consumer market, a rebounding portable
computer market and continued rapid expansion of
the population of Internet users," Bruce Stephen,
group vice president, Worldwide Personal Systems Research said.
IDC expects Dell (DELL), Compaq (CPQ), Hewlett-Packard (HWP), IBM
(IBM) and Apple (AAPL) to post strong performances in the current quarter.
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