Global shipments of PCs fell by 29% in the first quarter of 2023 due to weak demand, excess inventory and a deteriorating macroeconomic climate, with Apple taking the largest hit, market research firm IDC said.

In the report published on Sunday, International Data Corporation said global PC shipments numbered 56.9 million in the first quarter of this year, down from 80.2 million in the same period last year.

The shipments extended a similar year-on-year decline of 28.1% in the last quarter of 2022.

Of the top five PC companies analysed in the report, Apple’s first quarter shipments saw the largest drop of 40.5% from the same period in 2022, with Dell Technologies coming in second with a drop of 31%.

Lenovo Group, Asustek Computer and HP also faced declines in shipments, the IDC said.

In February, Apple reported that sales of its Mac computers, which had boomed during the wave of working from home during the pandemic, declined 29% year on year to US$7.7-billion in their most recent quarter.

“The preliminary results also represented a coda to the era of Covid-driven demand and at least a temporary return to pre-Covid patterns. Shipment volume in Q1 2023 was noticeably lower than the 59.2 million units shipped in Q1 2019 and 60.6 million in Q1 2018,” IDC said.

Slowdowns

“The pause in growth and demand is also giving the supply chain some room to make changes as many factories begin to explore production options outside China.”

Concerns over slowdowns in major economies remain, with recent tumult in the banking sector exacerbating worries that runaway inflation and tight monetary policy would hamper growth and financial investments.

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If the economy is trending upwards by 2024, “we expect significant market upside as consumers look to refresh, schools seek to replace worn-down Chromebooks, and businesses move to Windows 11”, said Linn Huang, research vice president, Devices and Displays, at IDC.