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April 11, 2023: The global PC market has witnessed a substantial decline in the first quarter of 2023, with an overall shipment drop of 29%, as per market intelligence firm IDC. The report stated that weak demand, excess inventory, and a deteriorating macroeconomic climate were some factors behind this slump. The top PC manufacturers, including Lenovo, HP, Dell, Apple, ASUS, and Others, saw a significant drop in their shipments. Apple was the worst hit, with a 40.5% decrease in shipments, followed by ASUS, Lenovo, and Dell. HP fared better, with a 24.2% drop in shipments. Regarding the number of shipments, Lenovo led the market with 12.7 million, followed by HP with 12 million and Dell with 9.5 million. Apple and ASUS had 4.1 million and 3.9 million shipments, respectively, while Others had 14.7 million.
Several factors contributed to this decline, including the reversal of work-from-home policies in a post-Covid environment, a subdued economy, and a significant increase in layoffs across big and small tech companies. The report also indicated that the elevated inventory levels persisted despite heavy discounting. IDC speculated that reduced demand would enable manufacturers to decouple with China and shift production elsewhere, mitigating political tensions between the US and China. Apple has already started moving some of its production to India and Vietnam to shield itself from potential disruptions.
The IDC expects the PC market to return to growth in 2024, with an ageing installed base requiring replacements. IDC research manager Jitesh Ubrani stated that although channel inventory had reduced in the last few months, it was still above the ideal four to the six-week range. Ubrani suggested that elevated inventory would continue into the middle of the year and potentially into the third quarter.
