GTDC: US beating Europe in PC recovery
Latest distributor sales-out data shows macroeconomics are taking their toll on the European market
The US is continuing to outpace Europe in terms of PC sales, according to the latest research from the Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC).
Mounting European market pressures over the past three quarters have taken their toll on sales in the region for Q3 2011, while the more robust US market saw a 16-point increase in sales for the same period.
GTDC’s figures are based on aggregated distributor sales-out data from the NPD Group Distributor Track in the US and Context SalesWatch figures for Europe. Each index provides a quarterly look at the PC market category’s revenue and ASPs.
Tim Curran, chief executive of the GTDC, said: “Based on NPD’s Distributor Track data, our US PC Market Index shows the sector maintaining substantial year-over-year growth across the board – up 16 points in the third quarter while continuing the solid performance achieved in Q2.
“Europe is a different story due to the much tougher and more diverse macroeconomic conditions in the region. As in Q2, unit volume in the third quarter remained relatively flat on a year-over-year basis, but ASPs fell 12 points on this index and contributed to an overall 11-point decline.”
According to the results, the US GTDC PC Market Index was up 53 points in Q3 2011 compared with its starting point of 100 in Q1 2009, the bottom of the US downturn. In Europe, the Q3 index remained slightly ahead – up eight points – compared with Q3 2009, when this index began showing signs of significant improvement from the industry downturn at the time.
"Although we are seeing divergent trends in the US and Europe, technology distributors continue to stand out as the best and most cost-effective way to deliver products and services to solution providers worldwide," Curran said.
"Regardless of economic conditions, this channel enables small and mid-size companies as well as large enterprises to maximise the value of their technology investments."