IDC Forecasts 8.7% PC Shipment Decline in 2015

Research firm International Data Corp said it expected 2015 PC shipments to fall steeper than its earlier forecast due to a large inventory of notebooks and the impact of a strong dollar.

IDC yesterday forecast PC shipments to fall 8.7 percent this year, higher than its earlier estimate of a 6.2 percent decline.

PC shipments are expected to start growing again in 2017 led by the commercial market, with consumer shipments continuing to decline through the end of 2019, the research firm said.

IDC said it had expected the second quarter to be a transition period as vendors prepare for Windows 10 systems in the second half of the year.

The 2016 shipments are expected to be hurt by economic issues, free upgrades of Windows 10 and less new models.

IDC said recovery is expected to be helped by the prospect of the next refresh cycle.

IDC expects total PC shipments to grow marginally in 2019 to 282.1 million from 281.6 million in 2015.

The growth is expected to be led by portable PC such as mini notebook while desktop PC would continue to decline.