ISuppli has revised its forecasts downwards and is now aiming for sales to fall four percent in volume, totaling 287.3 million units at the end of the year, compared to 299.2 million in 2008.
Although initial forecasts were not particularly high, the industry may fall far short of expectations Initial estimates for 2009 pointed to a 0.7 percent growth, but for the first time manufacturers are expected to put less PC in stores than in the previous year . «Even in the weakest years, PC sales have traditionally increased in the order of single digits,» says Matthew Wilkins, an analyst at iSuppli.
According to the consultant, 2009 will bring another novelty: the annual sales of notebooks will surpass for the first time those of desktops. In iSuppli’s accounts, sales of desktops will fall 18.1 percent to 124.4 million machines, compared to 151.9 million PCs sold last year. Predictions for notebooks point to an increase of 11.7 percent, from 139.6 million units to 155.9 million.
For three-month periods, iSuppli estimates a positive difference of 0.1 percent from the first quarter of 2009 to the second, projecting 66.5 million units sold. In the third and four quarters, PC sales will be 11 and 8.9 percent higher than in the immediately previous quarter.
For 2010, the consultant expects the market to recover, with sales rising 4.7 percent compared to this year.
