PC market shrugs off crunch

Second quarter unit shipment growth of 14.5 per cent exceeds expectations

HP continued its impressive start to 2008

Demand for PCs continues to defy economic and financial woes, reports analyst iSuppli, with worldwide unit shipments growing by 14.5 percent in the second quarter of 2008 compared to the same period a year earlier to reach 70.2 million units.

The pecking order remains the same however.

“HP continued its impressive start to 2008, with second-quarter PC shipments of 13.4 million units, maintaining its worldwide top spot at a market share of 19.1 per cent, according to our preliminary ranking,” said Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst of compute platforms for iSuppli.

But the second quarter represented Dell’s fourth consecutive quarter of market share growth, with the company delivering shipments of 11.2 million units and a market share of 16 percent.

Acer and Lenovo continued their fight in the second quarter, although with no change in rank. Acer held onto third place with a market share of 9.5 percent and Lenovo maintained fourth place, with a 7.9 percent share of shipments.

Lenovo also achieved a growth market share, from 6.9 percent in the first quarter to reach 7.9 percent in the second quarter.

Despite the economic conditions and difficulties in the housing and mortgage markets, the PC market remained strong in the second quarter, iSuppli said.

“PC shipments came in higher than forecast,” Wilkins said. “iSuppli maintains its enthusiasm for the PC market in 2008, despite the challenging conditions. iSuppli’s latest forecast for the 2008 PC market estimates unit growth of 12.5 percent.”