Global PC shipments are up again following supply chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak. PC shipments rose to 64.8 million units in the second quarter of 2020, according to analysis by Gartner published on Thursday.
Lenovo and HP shipped the most PCs, according to Gartner, at over 16 million units each. Dell, Apple, and Acer trailed at about 4 million units each. Chromebooks and iPads weren’t included in the data.
Strong demand driven by work-from-home
Mobile PC saw the biggest growth, helping to curb some of the attrition among desktops. Sellers were able to restock with the mobile PC demand during the quarter as more people worked or studied from home due to the lockdown orders.
Rival industry analyst International Data Corporation (IDC) also released data Thursday afternoon. Its global shipment numbers were slightly different, showing a total shipment volume of 72 million PCs during the quarter.
According to IDC data, HP tops in global PC shipments, at 18 million units, followed by Lenovo with 17 million units and Dell with 12 million. Apple and Acer shipped 5 million and 4 million PCs respectively.
Both the firms said the increase in mobile PC was particularly strong in Europe and North America.
Major PC makers suffered supply chain breakdown during the first few weeks of the lockdown as the coronavirus pandemic brought major manufacturing units in the Asia-Pacific region to a standstill. Vendors had very little stock for some products while also facing stronger demand as people across the world self-isolated to minimize the spread of the virus.
Will the PC market expand post-COVID pandemic?
IDC attributed the uptick in PC shipments to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jitesh Ubrani, IDC Mobile Device Trackers research manager, ascribes the growing demand to the surge in work-from-home as well as e-learning needs which have once again put the PC at the focus of consumers’ tech portfolio.
Gartner reckons the growth in PC sales is temporary. “This uptick in mobile PC demand will not continue beyond 2020, as shipments were mainly boosted by short-term business needs due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa says in the release.
It remains to be seen if this demand and high level of PC usage continues during the economic turndown and into the post-COVID world where shrinking budgets have become the norm.
