Global PC shipments slump in fourth quarter of 2022 amid economic headwinds including inflation and weak demand
- PC shipments in the three months ended December 31 fell 27.8 per cent year on year to 65.2 million units, according to Counterpoint
- The decline comes amid rising inflation, supply chain disruption as a result of the pandemic, and the impact of the conflict in Ukraine
Global PC shipments saw a record decline in the fourth quarter of 2022 amid economic headwinds, global inflationary pressures and stagnant PC demand, according to a recent report.
PC shipments in the three months ended December 31 fell 27.8 per cent year on year to 65.2 million units, according to data from Counterpoint Research. For the full year, shipments declined 15 per cent.
“Total PC shipments for 2022 reflect muted global PC demand with four consecutive quarters of year-on-year shipment declines. Therefore, we are not expecting a decent rebound in the first half year of 2023,” the research firm said in a report released on Thursday.
The decline comes amid rising inflation, supply chain disruption as a result of the pandemic, and the impact of the conflict in Ukraine. Inflation in the US hit a 40-year high of over 9.1 per cent in June, 2022 before dropping to 7.1 per cent in November. In the UK, inflation edged up throughout 2022 to touch a 41-year high of 11.1 per cent in November.
More woe in store for China’s chip stocks as semiconductor outlook weakens
Lenovo, the world’s largest PC maker founded by Liu Chuanzhi, continued to lead the market in the fourth quarter of 2022, with flat market share of 23.7 per cent share, or 15.5 million units. HP secured second place with a 20.3 per cent share. Dell’s 16.7 per cent market share was the lowest in the past seven quarters largely due to a slowdown in enterprise demand, according to the report.
Analysts expect Lenovo’s shipments decline to ease along with revived demand in the Chinese market this year.
Counterpoint said that consumer demand will likely see a gradual rebound in the second half year of 2023 followed by a slower warm-up in enterprise procurement. “Soft demand in the first half will put heavy pressure on global PC shipments. Therefore, we do not see annual shipment growth in 2023,” it said in the report.
However, the research firm was more optimistic on the longer-term outlook. “Despite near-term headwinds, we could still see global PC shipment volumes higher than pre-Covid levels in the coming years,” it said.
