El Segundo, Calif. – The research firm iSuppli is forecasting a
decline for computer unit shipments this year, the first since 2001.
iSuppli expects worldwide PC shipments to fall 4 percent in 2009,
down 11.9 million, to 287.3 million. Previously, the company predicted a slight
0.7 increase for the year.
“An annual decline in unit shipments is highly unusual in the PC
market,” observed Matthew Wilkins, iSuppli’s principal analyst, computer
platforms. “Even in weak years, PC unit shipments typically rise by
single-digit percentages.”
The 2001 decline came on the heels of the dot-com bust and
resulted in a 5.1 percent year-over-year decrease in
shipments.
Wilkins said this year’s drop is due to the expected 18.1 percent
decline in desktop PCs. This far offset the 11.7 increase notebooks computer
shipments will experience in 2009.
Looking forward, iSuppli expects second-quarter shipments to be
flat, but the firm expects strong quarter-over-quarter shipments in the third
quarter. However, these will still be below what was experienced during the
same period in 2008.
Shipments should again rise staring in 2010.
Global PC Shipment Forecast (in thousands of units)
Source: iSuppli
