24 March 2005 – New York (NY): World-wide growth in PC shipments is expected to slow this year on the back of a cautious US market outlook, according to research group IDC.
In its latest report on the worldwide PC market, the group lowered its growth outlook to 9.7 per cent from 10.1 per cent. It now expects worldwide shipments to reach 195.4 million units in 2005, up from 178.1 million in 2004.
US shipments are expected to rise 7.6 per cent this year, said IDC analyst Roger Kay, which follows two straight years of 11 per cent annual increases. This, he claimed, was due to "a host of risk factors", such as "a recovery that appears to be getting long in the tooth, a lack of jobs growth, rising budget and trade deficits, and persistently high oil prices".
Nevertheless, the IDC report said it expects the PC sector to grow at a higher rate over coming years, with shipments reaching 273 million units by 2009.
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