Wednesday February 10, 7:59 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: IDC
Latin America Personal Computer Market Meets Growth Forecast Despite
Obstacles, According to IDC
IDC Research Indicates Q4 1998 PC Shipments Grew 6% vs. Q4 1997 Despite Increasing Interest Rates and Vendor
Fallout
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Preliminary findings from IDC's Latin America Quarterly PC Market Tracker show regional desktop and
notebook PC shipments of 1,226,300 for the fourth quarter of 1998. The results have regional shipments increasing by 6.1% over Q4 1997, outpacing projected
shipment growth of 5.4%.
''Low cost PCs were a principal driver of the market in the holiday season,'' said Loren Loverde, Latin America Personal Systems research manager for IDC.
''Despite high interest rates vendors were able to capture year-end business spending and attract consumers interest.''
Both local and international vendors expanded their offering of low cost systems with AMD and Cyrix chips as well as Intel's Celeron processor. According to IDC
data, the average cost of a desktop system in Latin America was down to $1,340 in Q4 1998 versus roughly $1,500 at the beginning of the year, and over $1,700
during 1997.
Brazil and Argentina led the region in shipment growth with nineteen percent and thirteen percent, respectively. Brazil's PC market proved to be unexpectedly
resilient during the fourth quarter despite interest rates near 50%. Argentina also saw a good quarter considering a slowdown in the local economy. Mexico's PC
shipments were up roughly ten percent from Q497, but rose 26 percent from the previous quarter.
While the Venezuelan market recovered somewhat from a dismal Q3, shipments were still well behind both Q497 and the first half of 1998. The Chilean market
which has also suffered recently from economic problems declined slightly in the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter results brought 1998 annual shipments to nearly 4.16 million units, up twelve percent over 1997. However, the recent devaluation of the
Brazilian Real, and its impact on the region's economies, is expected to significantly slow PC market growth in 1999.
IDC reports quarterly on the personal computer (desktops, notebooks, and servers) market in Latin America. Each report series provides an overview of key issues
and regional market data comparisons. The country reports contained in the quarterly report series include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and
Venezuela. IDC market segmentation, vendor market shares, forecasts, and political, economic, and IT market analyses can be found in each of the six individual
country reports in the series.
The Latin America Quarterly PC Market Tracker research can be purchased by contacting Daniel Cardamone at 305-267-2616 or dcardamone@idc.com. For more
information about IDC's Latin America Research programs, please contact either Beth Freedman or Lisa Bloom at 508-872-8200.
With a network of six country offices in Latin America and two regional offices -- in Silicon Valley, California and Miami, Florida -- IDC provides full market
coverage of PCs, mainframes, UNIX systems and workstations, servers, desktop printers, professional services, local area networks, the Internet, RDBMS software,
distribution channels, NT, and IT spending patterns in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela. An IT series was recently added for Peru,
Ecuador, and seven Central American countries. International Data Corporation is the leading supplier of IT market information on Latin America.
About IDC
International Data Corporation is the information technology industry's most comprehensive resource on worldwide IT markets, trends, products, vendors, and
geographies. IDC provides data, analysis and advisory services to the world's leading IT suppliers as well as IS professionals in finance, insurance, entertainment,
advertising, consumer goods and publishing. IDC's research and opinions are based on the results of more than 300,000 end-user surveys, in-depth competitive
analysis, broad technology coverage, and strategic analysis. IDC is committed to providing global research with local content through its 500 analysts in more than
40 countries worldwide. Additional information on IDC can be found on its Web site at idc.com.
IDC is a division of International Data Group, the world's leading IT media, research, and exposition company.
All product and company names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
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