PC Shipments Outpace Expectations

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By: Bobby Elliott

It appears PC shipments in 2014 aren't quite as lackluster as first thought.

While not exactly rosy, the latest estimate from the International Data Corporation (IDC) suggest global PC shipments in 2014 will total 303 million. That's a 3.7 percent decrease compared to 2013, but outperforms past IDC estimates that pegged shipments to fall by at least 6 percent.

The major driver of the better-than-expected figures is a growing mature market for PCs, the IDC reports. The mature market for PCs is set to grow by 5.6 percent during the year, the highest growth since 2010.

"Programs to reduce PC prices, such as Windows 8.1 with Bing, have helped to improve PC shipments in some segments," says Jay Chou, Senior Research Analyst, Worldwide PC Trackers, in a press release. "Coupled with a shift toward more mobile PCs, the market has seen a quickened pace of innovation and a focus on price points."

Tracking shipments of PCs, tablets and smartphones helps provide a snapshot of what the future e-scrap waste stream will look like. It now appears we'll be seeing more PCs down the road than first thought, although long term growth forecasts, IDC says, remain highly uncertain.

"The prospects for significant PC growth in the long term remain tenuous, as users increasingly see PCs as only one of several computing devices," the research firm notes, with 2018 shipment estimates coming in at just above 291 million units.

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