Computer Shipments Fall Again
October 11 2016 - 5:50PM
Dow Jones News
Computer shipments again declined in the third quarter, and
though the retreat wasn't as steep as in recent periods, the sector
remained troubled, according to two research firms.
International Data Corp. said shipments fell 3.9% world-wide for
the period ended in September, pressured by a 13% slide posted
Apple Inc. IDC had projected shipments to fall 7.1%, the second
straight quarter in which the slide was narrower than expected.
IDC researchers said the slowing fall in shipments might have
less to do with recovering consumer demand and instead be linked to
companies beefing up inventories as top players in the sector
compete for market share amid the latest wave of consolidation.
Gartner Inc. estimated shipments fell 5.7% from the same period
a year ago. The firm said PC makers still faced a number of
challenges, including weak back-to-school demand and continuing low
demand in the consumer market, notably in emerging markets.
"The PC is not a high priority device for the majority of
consumers, so they do not feel the need to upgrade their PCs as
often as they used to," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at
Gartner. "Some may never decide to upgrade to a PC again."
The PC industry has been struggling with declining demand for
several years because of issues that include a shift in consumer
spending to smartphones. IDC's numbers might look better because
its figures include laptops called Chromebooks that run operating
software from Google Inc., while Gartner doesn't.
According to IDC, Lenovo Group Ltd. remained the top vendor in
the world over HP Inc., although its market lead shrank to its
smallest since the company climbed to the lead position in 2013.
IDC said Lenovo held 21.2% of the market, while HP commanded
19.7%.
Gartner also had HP gaining ground on Lenovo, with Lenovo
slipping 2.4% to 20.2% of market share as HP climbed 2.3% to hold
18.8%.
Apple was a leading drag on the global tally, according to both
firms, with IDC saying that the company was preparing to "refresh"
its personal computers.
In the U.S., Gartner said total shipments fell 0.3%. IDC said
the U.S. market showed growth in the latest quarter, without
offering a specific figure, but said it maintains a cautious
outlook for the current quarter.
Both firms said HP Inc. remains the top vendor in the U.S.
Write to Ezequiel Minaya at ezequiel.minaya@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 11, 2016 17:35 ET (21:35 GMT)
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