Worldwide PC Market to Slow Down

Staff -- Semiconductor International, 6/1/1998

In-Stat (Scottsdale, Ariz.) is forecasting slower growth for the PC market in 1998. The worldwide PC market, based on unit shipments, grew by 15.9% in 1997. Growth began to slow in the fourth quarter as economic difficulties in the Asia/Pacific region took effect.

"Throughout 1997, North America led all regions, growing 20.1% over 1996," said Norm Bogen, senior analyst for In-Stat's PC Market Service. "However, the ongoing economic difficulties in Japan and Asia/Pacific, along with slower economic growth in North America, will result in slower PC unit shipment growth in 1998," he added.

In-Stat estimated that the worldwide PC market will grow by 13.4% this year to 96.7 million units. The fastest-growing regions in 1998 will be North America at 15.5% and Europe at 15.0%. In-Stat expects significantly slower PC unit shipment growth this year of 10.6% in the ROW region and 6.1% in Japan. According to Bogen, the top four PC OEMs (Compaq, IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Dell Computer) will continue to gain market share at the expense of the second tier OEMs this year.