USA: Despite challenging economic conditions, worldwide PC shipments in the first quarter of 2008 rose in accordance with normal seasonal patterns, increasing by a double-digit percentage compared to the same period in 2007, according to iSuppli Corp.

Global PC unit shipments rose to 69.9 million units in the first quarter, up 12.1 percent from 62.4 million in the first quarter of 2007. Hewlett-Packard Co., Dell Inc. and Acer Inc. retained the top-three rankings with no change from the previous quarter.

“The first quarter of 2008 was better than hoped for, due to continued strong demand growth for mobile PCs,” said Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst for compute platforms research at iSuppli. “However, the financial markets are still adjusting to the effects of the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the United States, as are the consumers and businesses who have had their financial positions impacted.”

During the last five years, first-quarter PC shipments have grown by an average of 12 percent compared to the same period during the previous year, putting the beginning of 2008 on par with the norm.

HP leads out of the box
Leading PC brand Hewlett-Packard started 2008 on a high note, boosting its first-quarter global PC shipments by 23 percent over the same quarter in 2007, to reach 13.2 million units. This was the strongest percentage growth among the Top-10 PC makers and allowed the company to retain its No.-1 ranking on a worldwide basis with a market share of 18.9 percent.

“Hewlett-Packard’s continues to outgrow the overall PC market and the competition due to a number of factors, including its strong channel presence and its success in capitalizing on the strength in the notebook segment,” Wilkins said.

Dell in the first quarter of 2008 expanded its market share position by half a percentage point compared to the fourth quarter of 2007, at 15.4 percent, with worldwide shipments of 10.8 million units. Company shipments were up 20 percent from 8.97 million from the first quarter of 2007. “Dell’s performance reflects its gains from moves to expand its sales into the retail realm,” Wilkins noted.

Acer rounded out the Top-3 rankings with unit shipments of 6.8 million units—a figure that includes the shipments of the recently-acquired Gateway and Packard Bell—giving it a global market share of 9.7 percent.

Fellow Asian OEMs Lenovo and Toshiba rounded out the remainder of the Top-5 rankings in the first quarter with market shares of 6.9 and 4.4 percent respectively.

The figure presents iSuppli’s estimate of global unit market share in the first quarter of 2008.

Acer’s shipments have been adjusted to incorporate those from Gateway and Packard Bell, which were acquired by Acer in 2007.