Global PC shipments up 22.7% in Q1: iSuppli

Global PC shipments surged by 22.7% in the first quarter, totalling 81.5 million units, up from 66.5 million during the same period in 2009, according to a report by iSuppli.

The strongest year-over-year growth among the Top 10 OEMs was posted by Asian OEMs ASUSTeK Computer, Samsung Electronics, Lenovo Group and Acer. ASUSTeK that was ranked sixth, led the way with its shipments booming by 136.2%, while eight place Samsung, posted the second-best performance, with its shipments rising by 83.9%.

According to the report, fourth-ranked Lenovo achieved the third-highest results, with its shipments increasing by 58.5%; while no. 2-ranked Acer posted a shipments growth of 47.1% on a year-over-year basis – capturing 13.3% share of the global market, up from 11.1% a year earlier.

iSuppli noted that HP and Dell slightly underperformed the market, with their shipments rising by 22.2 and 21.8%, respectively, from a year earlier. Apple was the only PC OEM that managed to outperform the PC market in the first quarter, with its shipments rising by 32.4% from a year earlier.

The desktop PC market grew by only a scant 1%, but in contrast, notebook shipments registered a growth of 26.5%. iSuppli’s forecast that worldwide PC unit shipment will grow by 17% in 2010, with increased demand for notebooks but flat growth for the desktop segment.

Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst for compute platforms at iSuppli, said: “The first three months of 2010 delivered the highest quarterly PC shipment growth on a year-over-year basis since iSuppli began tracking the market in 2003. This record growth resulted from strong sales in the first quarter of 2010 combined with weak conditions during the first three months of 2009.

“The rise of Asian OEMs at the expense of longtime US leaders like Hewlett-Packard and Dell Inc. represents a historic shift in the PC market. The rise of the Chinese consumer economy along with Asia’s increasing dominance in electronics manufacturing is spurring a fundamental shift in regional balance of power in the PC market.”