Dell sweeps past Compaq as No 1 PC maker

NEW YORK: Dell Computer Corp. capitalized on turmoil in the maturing personal computer market to sweep past Compaq Computer to become the world's No. 1 PC maker in the first quarter, according to a survey.

But any celebratory mood was dampened by sobering statistics that showed that the US personal computer market posted negative year-to-year growth in the first quarter, for the first time in the history of the personal computer industry.

Gartner Dataquest said its preliminary study showed a 3.5 per cent unit decline to 10.9 million units in the United States and a sluggish 3.5 per cent unit growth in the global market to 32.5 million units. The figures are well below the solid double-digit growth rates the PC industry had racked up for more than two decades before a slowdown hit last fall.

Gartner Group Dataquest and International Data Corp. (IDC), the top two market researchers, will release preliminary data on Friday showing Dell's first quarter PC shipments grew 34.3 per cent to 4.16 million, or 12.8 per cent of the global market.

Compaq slipped to No 2, as growth stalled completely at 3.9 million units shipped during the first quarter, or 12.1 per cent of the market, Gartner said. Similarly, IDC figures showed Dell slightly over 4 million units and Compaq just under 4 million units.

(C) Reuters Limited 2001.