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| Gartner Dataquest Says Worldwide PC Shipments Drop 12 Percent in 3Q01 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SAN JOSE, Calif., October 17, 2001 - The slowing U.S. economy has impacted all PC regions, as worldwide PC shipments in the third quarter of 2001 totaled 30.7 million units, an 11.6 percent decline from the same period last year, according to preliminary results from Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT and ITB).
"In the third quarter, the PC market continued to suffer from the impact of PC saturation in developed markets, and the effects of the U.S. economic downturn came heavily to bear on all PC regions," said Charles Smulders, vice president of Gartner Dataquest's Computing Platforms Worldwide group. "The market is experiencing a significant PC component surplus, which is creating two dynamics. First, it favors the major companies with the most efficient supply chain. Second, it is creating a resurgence in the nonbranded (white box) PCs. The oversupply situation is expected to last throughout 2002." Dell extended its lead in both the worldwide and U.S. PC markets during the third quarter (see Table 1 and Table 2). As the other top-tier vendors experienced worldwide shipment declines ranging from 17 percent to 31 percent declines, Dell managed to grow nearly 11 percent. Table 1 Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q01 (Thousands of Units)
Source: Gartner Dataquest (October 2001) The September 11 terrorist attacks have exacerbated what had been expected to be a difficult quarter for the U.S. PC market. There have been mixed messages from vendors on the impact the attacks had on the PC market. Dell said it saw a swift return to business, while Compaq estimated that the event resulted in 300,000 fewer units in the United States. Gartner Dataquest analysts said that since Compaq's financial quarter ends in September and Dell's quarter ends in October, Compaq would feel more of an effect. "Compaq continued to suffer from competition relating to its supply chain," Smulders said. "In addition to the September 11 events, we believe the company was adversely affected by an at first uncertain reaction to the HP/Compaq merger announcement. HP experienced its slowest growth for worldwide shipments since the first quarter of 1997. As with Compaq, HP's strong dependency on the U.S. home market is taking a great toll on its overall performance. IBM continues to simplify its product lines and is looking at ways that it can differentiate its products using its technology research and development. We believe this has value as long as it's not used to disguise significant extra costs due to inefficiency in supply chain." Early indications are that every region experienced a significant slowdown in PC shipments. An anticipated double-digit decline in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region is a major factor in the worldwide result. Japan is battling the impact of the U.S. downturn and its own internal economic problems. Even Latin America, which grew by almost 50 percent in the third quarter last year, is expected to show negative growth this quarter. The U.S. PC market suffered its third consecutive quarter with negative growth. PC vendors have had a difficult time getting users to upgrade their systems. "Hardware performance has leapt ahead of most common software requirements, which provides the opportunity for users to extend their PC life cycles," Smulders said. "The economic downturn has also reduced the professional new seat opportunity as staff reductions are made, fewer businesses are created, and people transfer companies more infrequently. The one area of hope for vendors was the back-to-school business, but early indications show that this area was also performing weakly." Table 2 Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 3Q01 (Thousands of Units)
Source: Gartner Dataquest (October 2001) These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon to clients of Gartner Dataquest's PC Quarterly Statistics Worldwide by Region program. This program offers a comprehensive and timely picture of the worldwide PC market, allowing product planning, distribution, marketing and sales organizations to keep abreast of key issues and their future implications around the globe. To subscribe to this program, please call 800-419-DATA, or 408-468-8000. Additional research can be found on Gartner's Hardware and Systems Focus Area on Gartner's Web site at www.gartner.com/1_researchanalysis/focus/hwmkt_fa.html. Gartner Dataquest is the recognized leader in providing the high-technology and financial communities with market intelligence for the semiconductor, computer systems and peripherals, communications, document management, software, and services sectors of the global information technology industry. Gartner, Inc. is a research and advisory firm that helps more than 10,000 clients understand technology and drive business growth. Gartner's divisions consist of Gartner Research, Gartner Consulting, Gartner Measurement and Gartner Events. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., and has 4,600 associates, including 1,400 research analysts and consultants, in more than 80 locations worldwide. The company achieved fiscal 2000 revenues of $855 million. For more information, visit www.gartner.com. |
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Contact: Tom McCall 408-468-8312 tom.mccall@gartner.com |
