Gartner Says PC Vendors Experienced a Happy Holiday Season with Fourth Quarter Worldwide Shipments Increasing 12 Percent
STAMFORD, Conn., January 14, 2004 — Worldwide
PC shipments totaled 168.9 million units in 2003, a 10.9 percent increase from
2002 shipments, according to preliminary results from Gartner, Inc. PC vendors
benefited from a healthy fourth quarter, as worldwide PC shipments totaled 48.4
million units, a 12 percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2002.
"Strong consumer demand, robust
notebook growth and falling prices were the three key driving forces for
shipment growth in 2003," said Charles Smulders, vice president of
Gartner's Computing Platforms Worldwide group. "The professional market
also showed positive growth, but it was still slow progress. In the U.S.
market, enterprise buyers were still cautious on IT spending, but they did show
gradual increases in purchases in the second half of the year."
Dell was the No. 1 vendor in 2003 based
on worldwide shipments (see Table 1). However, Hewlett-Packard was the top
vendor in the fourth quarter of 2003. HP's strong focus on the consumer market
in the United States, and its success in the EMEA region, were important
drivers in moving it into the No. 1 position. Dell slipped into second place in
the quarter. Gartner analysts said the fourth quarter is typically a weaker
quarter for Dell because it has less presence in the worldwide consumer market.
Table 1
Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2003 (Thousands of
Units)
Company
2003 Shipments
2003 Market Share (%)
2002 Shipments
2002 Market Share (%)
Growth (%)
Dell
25,302
15.0
20,110
13.2
25.8
Hewlett-Packard
24,230
14.3
21,567
14.2
12.3
IBM
8,608
5.1
7,913
5.2
8.8
Fujitsu/Fujitsu
Siemens
6,370
3.8
5,714
3.8
11.5
Toshiba
4,944
2.9
4,233
2.8
16.8
Others
99,402
58.9
92,758
60.9
7.2
Total
168,856
100.0
152,295
100.0
10.9
Note: Data includes desk-based PCs, mobile PCs
and IA-32 servers.
Source: Gartner Dataquest (January 2004)
Gartner analysts said 2003 would be
remembered as the year when the PC industry and consumer electronics industry
began to seriously compete with each other.
"The fourth quarter of 2003 was a
turning point for several large PC vendors as they entered the computer
electronics space, with a portfolio of products that bridged the PC and
consumer electronics markets, such as Media Center PC and consumer electronic
devices, such as LCD TVs," Smulders said.
The PC vendors' ambitions to move into the
consumer electronics market became more apparent in the United States than in
other regions. Major vendors that have consumer lines include Dell,
Hewlett-Packard and Gateway. These vendors all introduced consumer
electronic-related products in the fourth quarter of 2003.
With a focus on the consumer market, U.S.
PC shipments totaled 57.7 million in 2003, a 12.4 percent increase from 2002
(see Table 2). Dell and HP were the only top-tier vendors to show a shipment
growth rate above the overall industry.
Table 2
Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2003 (Thousands of
Units)
Company
2003 Shipments
2003 Market Share (%)
2002 Shipments
2002 Market Share (%)
Growth (%)
Dell
15,944
27.6
12,982
25.3
22.8
Hewlett-Packard
10,713
18.6
9,217
17.9
16.2
IBM
2,742
4.7
2,540
4.9
8.0
Gateway
2,015
3.5
2,725
5.3
-26.0
Apple
1,693
2.9
1,701
3.3
-0.5
Others
24,628
42.7
22,187
43.2
11.0
Total
57,736
100.0
51,352
100.0
12.4
Note: Data includes desk-based PCs, mobile PCs
and IA-32 servers.
Source: Gartner Dataquest (January 2004)
These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon to clients of Gartner'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 408-468-8000. Additional research can be found on Gartner's Client
Platforms Focus Area on Gartner's Web site at http://www.gartner.com/research/focus_areas/asset_57051_815.jsp.
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