[dropcap]W[/dropcap]orldwide PC shipments fell by 4.3% in the second quarter of 2017 compared to the same period a year ago, marking the 11th straight quarter of declining shipments, according to analyst firm Gartner.
Just over 61m PCs were shipped in Q2, according to the results of the preliminary research.
“The PC industry is in the midst of a five-year slump,” Gartner said in a statement. “Shipments in Q2 were the lowest quarter volume since 2007.”
The company said higher PC prices due to the impact of component shortages for DRAM chips, solid-state drives and LCD panels had a “pronounced negative impact on PC demand”.
Principal analyst Mikako Kitagawa said PC makers took different approaches to higher component costs, with some absorbing the price hikes and others transferring these onto buyers.
“In the business segment, vendors could not increase the price too quickly, especially in large enterprises where the price is typically locked in based on the contract, which often runs through the quarter or even the year,” Kitagawa said.
In the quarter, HP reclaimed the top position worldwide for volume shipments from Lenovo. HP has achieved five consecutive quarters of year-on-year growth. Dell placed third, with Apple and Asus behind it in fourth and fifth places respectively. – © 2017 NewsCentral Media