Worldwide PC shipments are projected to grow by just over 11 per cent in 2004 and 2005 before slowing to roughly eight per cent through 2008, according to International Data Corporation's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker.
Shipment value is expected to grow by more than five per cent for the next two years, followed by growth of roughly three per cent through 2008.
"PC market recovery seems to be in full swing," said Loren Loverde, director of IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. "While some caution remains, the key trends we saw in 2003 - aggressive pricing, improving business spending, and consistent growth in portables - should keep overall growth in double digits for the next couple of years."
The worldwide PC market finished 2003 on a strong note, with fourth quarter shipment growth of 15.7 per cent coming in slightly ahead of IDC's 15.3 per cent growth forecast.
For all of 2003, shipments grew by 11.7 per cent to a record 154.5 million units while value grew by 1.2 per cent to $178 billion, representing the first annual growth in value since 2000.
"While market conditions remain positive, the 2004 growth rate will be challenged by a relatively difficult year-on-year comparison with 2003," said Roger Kay, vice president of Client Computing at IDC.
"Nonetheless, consumer support is holding up well, despite poor job growth, and portables are back in the saddle again after a brief hiatus during the desktop-dominated holidays. Enterprise spending continues to ride slowly towards recovery, albeit at a modest pace," he said.
© 2025