Gartner Dataquest Says Worldwide PC Market Growth Was Less Than 15 Percent in
2000
SAN JOSE, Calif., January 19, 2001 — Because of slowed growth during the fourth
quarter of 2000, the worldwide personal computer industry posted moderate gains
for the year, according to preliminary results from Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner
Group, Inc. (NYSE: IT and ITB). Worldwide PC shipments totaled 134.7 million units
in 2000, an increase of 14.5 percent over 1999 shipments (see Table 1). PC shipments
in the United States grew 10.3 percent in 2000.
"The PC industry was hurt by a sluggish 2000 fourth quarter when worldwide PC shipments
increased just 10 percent and U.S. shipments increased 6.4 percent," said Charles
Smulders, principal analyst of Gartner Dataquest's Computing Platform Worldwide
group. "The downturn in growth is concrete evidence that saturation in key segments
is playing an increasingly important role in overall market growth, with new shipments
unable to mask the effects of economic cycles on replacement buying.
"The timing of the economic downturn was unfortunate for the industry in the sense
that it coincided with the largest home sales quarter, a segment that is typically
the fastest to respond to economic uncertainty. However, preliminary estimates also
point to a weak professional market performance as well."
Table 1
Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2000 (Thousands of Units)
| Company |
2000 Shipments |
2000 Market Share(%) |
1999 Shipments |
1999 Market Share(%) |
Growth(%) |
| Compaq |
17,203 |
12.8 |
15,870 |
13.5 |
8.4 |
| Dell |
14,536 |
10.8 |
11,459 |
9.7 |
26.9 |
| Hewlett-Packard |
10,237 |
7.6 |
7,600 |
6.5 |
34.7 |
| IBM |
9,162 |
6.8 |
9,331 |
7.9 |
-1.8 |
| NEC |
5,848 |
4.3 |
6,045 |
5.1 |
3.3 |
| Gateway |
5,110 |
3.8 |
4,745 |
4.0 |
7.7 |
| Others |
72,642 |
53.9 |
62,577 |
53.2 |
16.1 |
| Total Market |
134,738 |
100.0 |
117,626 |
100.0 |
14.5 |
Note: Data includes desk-based PCs, mobile PCs and PC servers.
Source: Gartner Dataquest (January 2001)
Dell and HP were the only top-tier vendors to experience growth rates above the
industry average both worldwide and in the United States (see Tables 1 and 2). Some
of Dell's success was attributed to its aggressive pricing strategy during the quarter.
Gartner Dataquest analysts said HP continued to leverage its strong consumer franchise
and solid support of the retail channel.
Table 2
Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2000 (Thousands of Units)
| Company |
2000 Shipments |
2000 Market Share(%) |
1999 Shipments |
1999 Market Share(%) |
Growth(%) |
| Dell |
9,430 |
19.1 |
7,263 |
16.2 |
29.8 |
| Compaq |
7,615 |
15.4 |
7,234 |
16.1 |
5.3 |
| Hewlett-Packard |
5,641 |
11.4 |
3,939 |
8.8 |
43.2 |
| Gateway |
4,271 |
8.6 |
4,021 |
9.0 |
6.2 |
| IBM |
2,674 |
5.4 |
3,290 |
7.3 |
-18.7 |
| Others |
19,800 |
40.1 |
19,065 |
42.5 |
17.4 |
| Total Market |
49,432 |
100.0 |
44,811 |
100.0 |
10.3 |
Note: Data includes desk-based PCs, mobile PCs and PC servers.
Source: Gartner Dataquest (January 2001)
"While lower growth rates during the fourth quarter last year made for a disappointing
quarter for the industry, it does help allay some of the fears of inventory overhang
going into the first quarter of 2001, particularly in the U.S. retail market," Mr.
Smulders said. "This is better news for the industry, both because it suggests that
vendors were able to take some action to stem and reduce the build up evident in
the early part of the quarter, and the anticipated sell off of excess finished goods'
impact on 2001 first quarter shipments should be less pronounced."
These results are preliminary. Final statistics will be available soon to clients
of Gartner Dataquest'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 800-419-DATA, or 408-468-8009.
Gartner Dataquest is the recognized leader in providing the high-technology and
financial communities with market intelligence for the semiconductor, computer systems
and peripherals, communications, document management, software, and services sectors
of the global information technology industry.
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