Europe's top 500 PC suppliers sold equipment worth $89bn in 2004 and are on course to break the $90bn barrier this year.

Economic uncertainty and ongoing price pressure meant many firms looked to move away from volume business towards higher margin work. This could be extra services and support contracts or non-PC sales like MP3 players. Although big international brands get the lion's share of sales smaller, local companies are also important. The report found a wide variety of local PC assemblers across Europe.

Report author Christine Bardwell said that assemblers which had survived the downturn were more lean and flexible than ever before. She said: "Speed-to-market and cost management remain essential tools to overcome further economic and industry challenges. With the prospect of a small group of global OEM customers tightening their grip on the PC market, understanding local assembly channels is fundamental..."

The report is from IT Europa, more details here. ®

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