IDC: Global PC Shipment Forecast to Drop 10% in 2013

After witnessing lukewarm global market for PCs in the third quarter of 2013, International Data Corp. (IDC), a U.S.-based market research institute, has further cut its annual growth forecast of global PC shipment for 2013 to negative 10.1% from minus 9.7% announced earlier, the worst performance ever.

Also, IDC predicts global PC market size to further shrink 3.8% in 2014 for the third consecutive year of decline.

IDC's latest report shows that global PC shipment is estimated at only 314 million units in 2013, sharply dropping by 10.1% from 349 million units in 2012. This is the first time for the industry to see a double-digit downturn.

In fact, since announcing its first growth forecast of negative 1.3% in annual global PC shipment in March 2013, IDC has cut the forecast trice—deeper each time—down to minus 7.8% in May, minus 9.7% in August and minus 10.1% in December, respectively.

IDC analysts pointed out that the global PC industry has been facing its toughest time ever, partly because of persistently growing popularity of mobile Internet devices as smartphones and tablets, and partly because of languished market demand for new replacements.

As to the industry's outlooks in 2014, IDC analysts opine that global PC shipment will continue to drop by 3.8% year-on-year to 302 million units, despite Microsoft's move to stop supporting Windows XP, one of most popular PC operating software among its lineup worldwide since launched in 2001, believed to trigger consumer demand for new PC replacements to some extent.

Notable is that compared to IDC's forecasts, U.K.-based Gartner Inc. and Taiwan's Market Intelligence & Consulting Center (MIC), forecast milder drops of 7.5% and 7.6%, respectively, in global PC shipment for 2013.

Obviously more optimistic about the industry's prospects, MIC and Gartner both emphasize that the global PC market will stabilize in 2014, and project global PC shipment to show a minor drop of only 1.7% and to possibly reach the same level, respectively, compared to 2013. (SC)

Growth Forecasts of Global PC Shipment
Forecaster	Growth Forecast for 2013	Growth Forecast for 2014
International Data Corp.	- 10.1%	-3.8%
Market Intelligence & Consulting Center	- 7.5%	- 1.7%
Gartner Inc.	- 7.6%	Possibly Unchanged