13 June 2002 PC sales are recovering and look set for double-digit growth in 2003. According to analysts, unit shipments of PCs in 2002 are already showing a marked improvement on the previous year, leading analysts at IDC to raise its 2002 growth forecast for worldwide PC shipments from 3% to 4.7%.

Meanwhile, analyst group Gartner has also marked its figures upwards to growth of 5.4%, up 1% on its earlier forecast. Analysts said the PC industry, which typically ships greater volumes during the second-half of the year, would reap the benefits of increased confidence in the global economy.

The outlook is even rosier for 2003. IDC estimates that 2003 shipments of PCs will surge by 11.1% to 155.3 million units. Sales growth in the US will be marginally lower at 10.3%. A major fillip will come from revitalised demand for PCs among large companies, although this has yet to kick-in, says Loren Loverde, director of IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker.

This will come as a welcome relief to PC manufacturers still shell-shocked from the decline in sales in 2001. According to Gartner, 2001 worldwide PC sales fell 4.6% – the industry’s worst performance for more than a decade. This was compounded by plunging prices, which further squeezed the profitability of vendors.

That led to a number of bankruptcies among mid-tier PC vendors, including Quantex, Dan Technology, Panrix and Roldec. In addition, once fast-growing Tiny was acquired by rival Time and US PC giant Gateway was forced out of the European market.