Jun 14 2006
Worldwide PC shipments grew by a healthy 12.6% in the first quarter of 2006 - ahead of March projections of 11.8% growth. Although PC shipment growth slowed from 15.1% in 2004 and 16% in 2005, the market continues to exceed expectations and the outlook for 2006 has improved, according to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. As expected, first quarter growth in Western Europe slowed considerably, and growth in other major regions also subsided from last year. In addition, growth in the United States and Western Europe fell by roughly 1% more than projected. However, despite these inhibitors, growth in Japan, Asia/Pacific excluding Japan, and the Rest Of World regions all surpassed IDC's March projections by several points and boosted not only first quarter growth, but contributed to a modest improvement in the forecast.
The outlook for shipment growth in 2006 increased to 10.8% from a March projection of 10.5%. The outlook for 2007 was boosted nearly 1% to 11.7% and 2008 growth projections also increased slightly. Although growth rates for 2009 and 2010 were reduced slightly, total volumes remain higher than earlier projections because of the higher near-term growth. Total shipment volume is expected to reach 284.5 million in 2008 and 333.7 million in 2010 with a value of US$253.9 billion, and US$271.1 billion, respectively.
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