World PC shipments drop for first time in 15 years

Down 1.9% in Q2 to 30.4m units

By Linda Harrison • Get more from this author

Posted in Business, 20th July 2001 12:05 GMT

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Worldwide PC shipments dropped 1.9 per cent during last quarter - the first shipment decline for the market in 15 years.

Around 30.4 million units were shipped during Q2, according to figures from Gartner Dataquest.

Dell was the only top tier PC vendor to see growth worldwide and in the US during the three-month period. It shipped four million units worldwide, a growth of 20 per cent over Q2 2000.

Compaq saw unit shipments decline by 14 per cent to 3.4 million, while IBM shipments fell seven per cent to 2.1 million.

"Without a major shift in the PC industry structure, future sustained high-growth rates are improbable," said Todd Kort, principal analyst of Gartner Dataquest's Computing Platform Worldwide group.

"To address these issues, the industry needs to create a more compelling value proposition for users that extends beyond the typical price/performance metrics that have dominated industry thinking."

"For the time being, vendors continue to opt for price cutting rather than changing PC design to stimulate growth." ®