PC Industry Going To Hell In A Handbasket (AAPL)(HPQ)(DELL)

Gartner’s new research on PC sales for 2009 is out and there it nothing in it to cheer the likes of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) or Dell (DELL). Sales of computers will drop so drastically this year that even the Apple (AAPL) Mac may be effected.

According to the reseach company “the PC industry will experience its sharpest unit decline in history, with PC shipments totaling 257 million units in 2009, an 11.9 percent decline from 2008.”

“The PC industry is facing extraordinary conditions as the global economy continues to weaken, users stretch PC lifetimes and PC suppliers grow increasingly cautious,” said George Shiffler, research director at Gartner.

Gartner added “Both emerging and mature markets are forecast to suffer unprecedented market slowdowns. Up to this point, emerging markets collectively recorded their lowest growth in 2002, 11.1 percent. Mature markets recorded their lowest growth in 2001, negative 7.9 percent. Both emerging and mature markets will handily surpass these previous lows in 2009, with emerging markets expected to post a decline of 10.4 percent and mature markets a decline of 13 percent.”

“Worldwide mobile PC shipments are expected to reach 155.6 million units, a 9 percent increase from 2008. Desk-based PC shipments are forecast to total 101.4 million units, a 31.9 percent decline from 2008. Mobile PC growth will be substantially boosted by continued growth in mini-notebook shipments; excluding mini-notebooks, other mobile PC shipments will grow just 2.7 percent in 2009.”

Gartner said the only bright spot was mini-PCs. “Worldwide mini-notebook shipments are forecast to total 21 million units in 2009, up from 2008 shipments of 11.7 million units. Mini-notebooks will cushion the overall PC market slowdown, but they remain too few to prevent the market’s steep decline. Mini-notebooks are forecast to represent just 8 percent of PC shipments in 2009.”

Douglas A. McIntyre