PC market climbs 15%
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October 26, 1998: 2:27 p.m. ET
Sales in U.S., Europe spark worldwide 3Q growth; Compaq still No. 1
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Strong sales of personal computers in the United States and Western Europe offset economic weaknesses in other regions to spark 15-percent third-quarter growth in the worldwide PC industry, a market research group reported Monday.
Total U.S. vendor shipments climbed 14 percent from year-ago levels and were 19 percent higher than second-quarter results, according to International Data Corp. (IDC).
IDC also said a growing low-cost PC market helped spur strong growth in Western Europe.
The firm had expected a more modest 11-percent growth in the quarter.
IDC reported that while unstable demand continued in the Asia/Pacific region, Japan posted a positive growth rate, in large part due to acceptance of Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Windows 98 operating system and Apple Computer Inc.'s (AAPL) iMac computer.
Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) retained its No. 1 position with 1.5 million shipments, translating to a 15.8-percent market share. Dell Computer Corp. (DELL) held firm at No. 2 with 1.34 million shipments, a 14.1-percent share.
"With its channel inventory greatly reduced, Compaq was able to push shipments upward," said Christine Arrington, an IDC senior analyst.
On a year-over-year basis, however, Dell posted a 65-percent growth rate, while Compaq slipped 8 percent. Compaq's results include shipments from Digital Equipment Corp., which the company recently acquired for $9.1 billion.
IBM Corp. (IBM) ranked third during the third quarter, boasting 869,000 shipments for a 9.1-percent market share and year-over-year growth of 34 percent. IDC said lower prices for consumer PCs and new technologies across IBM's product lines put Big Blue back among the top five computer makers.
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