Worldwide PC shipments increased 2.6% in the second quarter of 2011 (2Q11), according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. The results are just short of IDC’s May projections for 2.9% growth and represent a combination of a hangover from the more than 20% growth in the first half of 2010 as well as competition from smartphones, other consumer products and pressure from lackluster economic conditions. As in 1Q11, the United States and Western Europe were among the weaker regions, reflecting constrained demand in more mature markets, while emerging regions – particularly Latin America and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) – fared better.
“These preliminary results continue to reflect pressure from competing consumer and business products as well as cautious spending,” said Jay Chou, senior research analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, in the press release. “Nevertheless, product refreshes and promotions in the second half of the year as well as easier year-ago data should boost growth in the second half of the year.”
“The U.S. PC market continued to contract in 2Q11, largely as a result of three factors. The first is an ongoing contraction in the Mini Notebook (Netbook) market and related inventories. The second is the impact of 2Q10’s difficult-to-sustain 12% growth. And third, demand has softened as corporate buyers continue to focus on increasing share of their IT budget in new IT solutions such as cloud and virtualization, and consumer interest shifts to media tablets,” says Rajani Singh, research analyst, United States Quarterly PC Tracker. “Given the weakness of 2H10, we expect a better market environment in 2H11 with mid-single digit growth rates in the third quarter’s back to school and fourth quarter’s holiday season.”
Regional Outlook
• United States – With a decline of 4.2% year over year, the market was still downcast from a combination of exuberant consumption a year ago and a tenuous economic recovery, but the quarter also marked substantial growth from 1Q11, and total shipments topped over 17.8 million.
• Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) – The EMEA PC market continued to contract in 2Q11, in line with IDC’s forecast, as sustained high levels of inventory prevented stronger sell-in, particularly in Western Europe, where budget cannibalization from media tablets and smartphones continued to contribute to weak consumer demand and slow stock depletion. However, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Middle East and Africa (MEA) continued to expand and enjoyed positive growth overall.
• Japan – The impact of the earthquake on PC buying proved to be limited, thus the market produced stronger results than expected, with 3% growth. Many commercial projects commenced as earlier fears of inventory shortage did not materialize. Coupled with continued average selling price (ASP) declines since the beginning of 2011, consumer shipments also fared better than expected.
• Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) – returned to double-digit growth of just over 12% as the market came in slightly above forecasts. A weak consumer market weighed down India, but other key markets like China continued their momentum to help offset this, despite the ongoing inflation challenges there.
Vendor Outlook
• HP grew 3% compared to the second quarter of 2010. The vendor saw good growth in key emerging markets and also EMEA, but also had a slight drop in volume compared to the previous quarter.
• Dell saw growth of 2.8% worldwide. It managed to slow the pace of declines in key markets compared to the first quarter, with good gains in key emerging markets.
• Lenovo outpaced Acer Group to become the number 3 vendor worldwide. It continued to reap the results of its channel expansion in markets outside of Asia/Pacific, garnering notable gains in the U.S. and Japan. All regions saw positive growth and total volume increased by nearly 23% on the year.
• Acer shipments continued to decline from a year ago, but at a slower pace than in the first quarter as the company was affected by a review of inventory handling, as well uncertainties from its recent management shake-up.
• ASUS grew 6% to overtake Toshiba for the number 5 spot. While the vendor has had some difficulties adjusting for the decline in Mini Notebook PCs, it mainstream notebooks did well, especially in emerging markets.
Top 5 Vendors, Worldwide PC Shipments, Second Quarter 2011 (Preliminary)
Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, July 13, 2011
Table Notes:
• Some IDC estimates prior to financial earnings reports.
• Shipments include shipments to distribution channels or end users. OEM sales are counted under the vendor/brand under which they are sold.
• PCs include Desktops, Portables, Mini Notebooks and do not include handhelds, x86 Servers and Media Tablets (i.e. iPad and Android-based Tablets). Data for all vendors are reported for calendar periods.
Top 5 Vendors, United States PC Shipments, Second Quarter 2011 (Preliminary)
Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, July 13, 2011
Table Notes:
• Some IDC estimates prior to financial earnings reports.
• Shipments include shipments to distribution channels or end users. OEM sales are counted under the vendor/brand under which they are sold.
• PCs include Desktops, Portables, Mini Notebooks and do not include handhelds, x86 Servers and Media Tablets (i.e. iPad and Android-based Tablets). Data for all vendors are reported for calendar periods.
IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker gathers PC market data in over 80 countries by vendor, form factor, brand, processor brand and speed, sales channel and user segment. The research includes historical and forecast trend analysis as well as price band and installed base data.
Source: IDC
Related article:
Gartner: Apple Macintosh grabbed 10.7% U.S. PC market share in Q211 – July 13, 2011
Rounding errors.
…as long as it takes.
If they included tablets in the US Apple would be number 1. Don’t forget Apple makes 7 x the profit that HP does per computer.
It’s a PC market share analysis, iPad, therefore, is rightfully excluded.
If we consider that iPad has been eating away from the Netbook (and even some casual notebook/laptop) sales, then iPad could count as PC. However, since Mr. Jobs has pitched iPad as a post-PC device, I’m content to not count it as a PC. I think in the longer run, around iPad 6 or so, the direction and the identity of the device/platform will get clearer. Right now, all we got is iCloud – thin client tangential.
The trouble with that logic is that many people buy PC’s to just use as a media consumption device (access email, Facebook and the web). The iPad is simply the first appliance computer.
Makes sense as I view it mostly as an uber scalable gadget as well. Appliance Computer is good, but do you really want it known as AC?
I prefer web appliance, connected appliance or smart appliance. Whatever, it should be distinct from the clunky, complex “computers” of yore.
But Ballmer said that tablets needed Windows 8 because they were PCs. That’s allegedly why Microsoft won’t use Windows Phone 7 on tablets.
So are tablets PCs or not? If the fulfill similar roles as netbooks and laptops, then I would argue “yes.”
If they included tablet sales worldwide, Apple would probably be #2, if not #1.
Notice the decline in the U.S. market overall (4.2%), cited as a downtrend especially due to lagging netbook sales, but of course not adding in 6-10 million iPad sales.
Let’s say Apple shipped 9 million iPads and 4.25 million Macs, that would put them at 13.25 million, a solid #2 worldwide and if just half of he iPads were sold in America, #1 in the USA. We’ll know Tuesday.
They should start tracking the decline of the PC as a percentage of total post-PC-era computing devices. That trend would be much more telling. For example, Dell has a 10% decline in PCs but probably a greater decline in the percentage of the computing market that includes phones and iPads, er, tablets.
I wonder if the Apple money printing machine gives a flying rats ass about any of these stupid figures, like IDC’s prediction that Windows Phone will be #2 by 2015.
“… like IDC’s prediction that Windows Phone will be #2 by 2015.”
Make that 2016. No, maybe 2017. Gotta be 2018. 😆
If we include iPads in the numbers, Apple is the #2 manufacturer of PCs in the world. Horace Deidu thinks Apple sold 4.3M macs this past qtr and I trust his estimates. The best bloggers (amateurs) think more than 8.3M iPads were sold. If you add the iPads and Macs it gets to the 12.6M range. That would be more than Dell by far.
Disruptive.
http://www.asymco.com/2011/04/25/estimates-for-apples-third-fiscal-quarter-ending-june/
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/07/12/ipad-sales-estimates-for-fiscal-q3-range-from-6-0-to-9-5-million/
“If we include iPads in the numbers…”
What is ACTUALLY important is the profit made by each of these companies. Apple is KICKING THEIR ASS up and down the block. They’re hurting. 😥
That’s what I’m talking about. The Legend of Billy Jack is all about kicking ass!
I agree. These companies are in business to make a profit, not “sell units.”
The scary thing for the competition… Apple is catching up in unit sales number too (even when you don’t count iPads), while continuing to be just as profitable per unit.
Pretty soon, no one will be able to afford to compete with Apple, and the competition will only go after the “niches” that Apple intentionally avoids (like phones with slide-out keyboards, ‘tweener tablets, and laptops with touch screens).
Netbooks are hardly computers judged by the same standards or criteria, they just happen to look more like one. Which says everything about a Data company that is more style over substance so as not upset its prime backers.
These stats are becoming more and more irrelevant. Excluding iPad sales (as if the device’s general function was different than a computer) makes this information spurious, at best.
IDC agreeing with Gartner?
Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes… The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together… mass hysteria!
Once iOS 5 permits iPads to operate fully independently, without need for a Mac or PC, there will be no excuse to keep the iPads out of the count.
So, they took the Lion’s share. 🙂
“If we could have made more, we would have sold more.”
I wonder when someone will take these numbers and add the iPad to them to see what is really happening. At what point do you start counting iOS devices that already do more than PC’s did just a few years ago. Some of what iOS devices do today a PC can’t do and never will. Balmer and Microsoft sees the iPad as a PC and is counting all of the damage it is doing to them and their future strangle hold on the PC market.
Count them or don’t count them. Reality is, Apple is sucking up money these old school PC clowns will never see and soon, they will no longer count due to their bottom line!