GEC NEWS WIREWorldwide PC shipments totaled 61.1 million units in the second quarter of 2017, a 4.3% decline from the second quarter of 2016, according to preliminary results by Gartner. The PC industry is in the midst of a 5-year slump and this is the 11th straight quarter of declining shipments. Shipments in the second quarter of this year were the lowest quarter volume since 2007.
“Higher PC prices due to the impact of component shortages for DRAM, solid state drives and LCD panels had a pronounced negative impact on PC demand in the second quarter of 2017,” said Mikako Kitagawa, Principal Analyst at Gartner. However, in the business segment, vendors could not increase the price too quickly, especially in large enterprises where the price is typically locked in based on the contract, which often run through the quarter or even the year,” Ms. Kitagawa said. “In the consumer market, the price hike has a greater impact as buying habits are more sensitive to price increases. Many consumers are willing to postpone their purchases until the price pressure eases.”
HP reclaimed the top position from Lenovo in the worldwide PC market in the second quarter of 2017. Lenovo’s global shipments declined 8.4% in the second quarter of 2017, after two quarters of growth. Dell achieved five consecutive quarters of year-on-year global shipment growth, as shipments increased 1.4% in 2Q17. In the U.S., PC shipments totaled 14 million units in the second quarter of 2017, a 5.7% decline from the second quarter of 2016. The Chromebook market has been growing much faster than the overall PC market. Gartner does not include Chromebook shipments within the overall PC market, but it is moderately impacting the PC market. Worldwide Chromebook shipments grew 38 percent in 2016, while the overall PC market declined 6%.
