ISuppli revises global PC sales forecast, see smaller decline

Dylan McGrath EE Times (12/03/2009 7:39 PM EST)

SAN FRANCISCO—Market research firm iSuppli Corp. said Thursday (Dec. 3) it revised its 2009 PC sales forecast thanks to better-than-expected third quarter shipments. The firm also said Taiwan's Acer Inc. moved into the No. 2 position in global PC sales in the third quarter, marking the first time an Asian OEM has ranked so highly in PC market share for a quarter.

Matthew Wilkins iSuppli Corp.

Third quarter PC shipments rose 1.1 percent compared to the third quarter of 2008 and 19 percent compared to the second quarter of this year, according to iSuppli (El Segundo, Calif.). This marked the first year-to-year increase in PC shipments since the fourth quarter of 2008, and the highest rate of sequential growth since iSuppli began tracking the market in 2003, according to the firm.

Given the stronger-than-expected results in the third quarter, iSuppli revised its 2009 PC unit shipment forecast to a 0.9 percent decline. The firm had previously predicted PC sales would be down 4 percent for the year.

Acer (Taipei) moved up from third place among global PC vendors, supplanting Round Rock, Texas-based Dell Inc. in the third quarter, iSuppli said. Hewlett-Packard Co. was the No. 1 PC supplier for the 13th consecutive quarter, with its market share rising to 20 percent, iSuppli said.

Acer's PC unit shipments soared by 16.6 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period a year earlier and by 31 percent from the second quarter of this year, according to iSuppli. This caused the company's share of worldwide PC unit shipments to rise to 13.4 percent, up from 12 percent in the second quarter of 2009 and up from 11.6 percent in the third quarter of 2008, the firm said.

According to Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst for compute platforms at iSuppli, Acer's rise in rankings reflects the company's strong performance in the notebook segment as well as "the historic rise of Asia as a primary force in the computer industry."

Related Links: