Global PC shipments lag after pandemic peaked demand
Worldwide shipments of PCs grew just 4.6 per cent in comparison to the second quarter in 2020, after the pandemic peaked demand, according to research and advisory firm Gartner.
The shipments totalled 71.6m units in the second quarter of this year and while the growth appears minor, it remains above pre-pandemic levels.
The lagging growth has been, in part, put down to the ongoing component shortages – namely computer chips, as the automotive and technology industries battle over a reduced supply.
After a year of “extremely strong” PC demand, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) PC shipments tumbled 1.9 per cent year on year.
“This past quarter saw the market readjusting to new norms in shipments, inventory and demand after an unprecedented peak in 2020,” research director, Mikako Kitagawa said.
“The global semiconductor shortage and subsequent component supply constraints have extended lead time for some enterprise mobile PC models to as long as 120 days.
“This has led to prices increasing in the bill of materials, which vendors have passed on to end users. Moving forward, rising prices could continue to slow PC demand through the next 6 to 12 months.”
Lenovo has emerged as the market top dog, having the highest number of shipments and recording its fifth consecutive quarter of year on year growth, followed by HP and Dell.
However, HP’s worldwide PC shipments shrank 11.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2021 compared to a year ago.