Gartner Announces 5.2% Decrease in Global PC Shipments in Q2 2016
Asia Pacific PC shipments declined 6.3% year-over-year.

According to preliminary results released by Gartner Inc., global PC shipments totaled 64.3 million units in the second quarter of 2016, a 5.2% decrease from the same period last year, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of decline. However, Gartner said the PC market is showing some signs of recovery.

▲Lenovo maintained its position as the world's number one PC company for the 13th consecutive quarter, recording a 20.5% share of the global PC market in the second quarter.

“The depreciation of local currencies against the U.S. dollar has led to higher PC prices in some countries, which is a chronic problem facing the PC market,” said Mikako Kitagawa, research director at Gartner. “This price increase affected EMEA and Latin America last year.

However, the decline in PC shipments in the second quarter of this year slowed compared to the same quarter last year, suggesting that the impact of exchange rates is becoming minimal,” he explained.

▲Estimated global PC shipments for the second quarter of 2016 (unit: thousands of units) Source: Gartner (July 2016)

Researcher Kitagawa stated, "PC shipments declined in all regions worldwide except North America. Latin America continues to face weak PC market demand due to political and economic instability. PC shipments in the region are projected to fall 20% year-over-year to just under 5 million units in the second quarter of 2016." This will be the lowest figure in the history of the Latin American PC market," he added.

Gartner said that Britain's withdrawal from the European Union (EU) did not have a significant impact on its global PC results in the second quarter of 2016, but analyzed that Brexit will cause uncertainty not only in exchange rates but also in the global economy, including Europe.

Lenovo maintains top spot despite a 2.2% year-over-year decline.

Lenovo maintained its top spot in the second quarter of 2016 despite a 2.2% year-over-year decline in global PC shipments. Lenovo achieved double-digit growth in the US mobile PC market, but struggled in EMEA due to inventory buildup. In Asia Pacific, Lenovo's PC shipments declined, but at a lower rate than the global average.

After four consecutive quarters of shipment declines, HP returned to growth in the second quarter of 2016. Having resolved inventory buildup issues that had slowed "sell-in" shipments, HP performed well in EMEA, securing the top spot, but failed to overtake Dell in the United States.


▲Estimated PC shipments by US vendors in the second quarter of 2016 (unit: thousands of units) Source: Gartner (July 2016)

Dell achieved above-average growth across all regions in the second quarter of 2016, particularly in the United States, Latin America, and Japan. Mobile PC shipments increased in all regions except EMEA, while desktop PC shipments declined in most regions.

As of the final Q2 2016 PC shipment results, ASUS, Apple, and Acer are locked in a fierce battle for the top four spots in worldwide PC shipments in Q2 2016.

Opportunities and challenges still coexist in the US PC market.
Active PC sales activities are taking place in the public sector.

In the second quarter of 2016, PC shipments in the US market reached 15.2 million units, a 1.4% increase year-over-year, marking the first increase after five consecutive quarters of declines. Gartner stated that the US PC market still presents both opportunities and challenges.

Researcher Kitagawa said, "Although manufacturers and distributors are showing a positive outlook for PC sales compared to the past, there is still a possibility of inventory accumulation. This will depend on how much the PC market can boost demand in the corporate and consumer markets in the second half of this year. The second and third quarters are typically considered PC purchasing seasons in the U.S. public sector. The positive results recorded in this second quarter indicate active PC sales activity in the public sector. In the corporate sector, opportunities related to Windows 10 upgrades remain valid, and we expect this to continue through the end of this year and early 2017."

In the second quarter of 2016, PC shipments in the Asia-Pacific market declined 6.3% year-over-year to 22.7 million units. The economic downturn in the region is putting pressure on discretionary spending, with smartphones being prioritized over PCs. Government IT spending slowed during election campaigns in Australia, the Philippines, and South Korea. Furthermore, business confidence in China, where PC shipments fell 6.4%, appears to be weakening, affecting consumer purchasing patterns.

PC shipments in EMEA declined 4.3% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2016, reaching 17.8 million units. The depreciation of the euro and the resulting rise in prices led to a single-digit decline in PC shipments in Western Europe. While Brexit had little impact on the PC market in the second quarter of this year, the pound had been depreciating since the referendum announcement in 2015. However, after the Brexit vote, the pound sterling plummeted against the dollar. This, coupled with rising prices, is likely to lead to a fourth consecutive quarter of decline in the UK PC market.