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To: DJBEINO who wrote (4749)	3/9/1999 3:32:00 PM
From: DJBEINO	Respond to of 9582

14:04 IBC SEES Q1 WORLD PC UNIT VOLUME GROWING 14%. IDC forecasts 14.1% unit growth for PCs in 1Q By News Staff Electronic Buyers' News (03/09/99, 02:38:53 PM EDT) Unit volume in the worldwide PC market this quarter is expected to grow year-over-year 14.1%, according to data released today by International Data Corporation (IDC), Framingham, Mass. As throughout 1998, growth in the first quarter will be led by the U.S. and Western European markets, with Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) showing continuing signs of a rebound, IDC said. PC volume for 1999 is expected to be 103.2 million on growth of 14.3%. The United States will post a 19.3% year-over-year growth rate, the strongest of any major region this quarter, while Western Europe will post year-over-year unit growth of 15.1%, and Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) is expected to show 14% year-over-year growth, IDC said. Following a well-established seasonal pattern, worldwide volume in Q1 will decline 14.7% from Q4 1998, IDC said. The value of PC shipments will rise 4.8% to $178.4 billion, a sign of ongoing price pressure in the PC market, IDC said. ''This low-growth scenario illustrates the continued downward migration of consumer and commercial desktop as well as portable PC prices,'' said Bruce Stephen, IDC group vice president of worldwide PC research. ''It also explains why PC vendors are moving at a frenetic pace to diversify their business models and revenue sources.'' The worldwide market is being led by strong consumer markets in the United States, Western Europe, and Asia/Pacific, including Japan, IDC said. In the United States, consumer interest in inexpensive PCs has extended beyond the holiday shopping season as low-cost vendors look to move sizable numbers of units. Y2K spending on PCs and a resilient portable PC market are also expected to add to the market's performance this quarter, according to IDC. The vendors that will likely gain market share on a sequential basis this quarter will be those pegged to consumer growth in the United States, Western Europe, and Asia-Pacific, including Japan, according to IDC. In 1998 U.S. PC shipments, Compaq held the highest market share with 18.1%, Dell followed with 12.8%, Gateway and IBM tied at 9.1%, and Hewlett-Packard was fifth with 7.2%. However, in terms of growth of market share from 1997 to 1998, Dell increased 56%, while Gateway increased 33%, and Hewlett-Packard 30%, IDC said. The top five vendors in 1998 worldwide PC shipments were Compaq, IBM, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Packard Bell NEC, with the greatest market-share gain by Dell at 58%, IDC said. ebnews.com