Global PC Shipments Rise as China's Lenovo Secures Top Spot
(Bloomberg) -- Worldwide shipments of personal computers increased 1.5% in the second quarter, fueled by businesses upgrading to the latest Windows software from Microsoft Corp. China-based Lenovo Group Ltd. held the No. 1 spot over U.S. rival HP Inc. amid a trade war between the two countries.
PC shipments increased to 63 million units in the period ended June 30 from 62 million in the quarter a year earlier, researcher Gartner Inc. said Thursday in a report. Robust corporate demand offset a decline in notebook shipments, Gartner said. Lenovo shipped almost 16% more PCs year-over-year, giving the company a quarter of the global market.
Industry research firm IDC estimated PC shipments climbed 4.7% in the most recent period, with vendors putting out 65 million devices worldwide.
"The threat of increased tariffs led some PC makers to ship a surplus of desktops and notebooks, thereby artificially propping up the PC market during the second quarter," said Jitesh Ubrani, a research manager at IDC.
Computer makers have struggled to navigate global trade tensions. They already operate with low profit margins, and many of them have shuffled their supply chains in response to U.S. tariffs on some components. Dell Technologies Inc. and HP are reportedly considering moving 30% of their notebook production out of China.
Dell came in third place in the global PC race, with 17% of the market after HP’s 22%. Apple Inc.’s PC shipments narrowly declined in the most recent period, and the company held the fourth spot with about 6% of the market.
(Updates with estimates from IDC in third paragraph.)
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