The much expected rise in PC sales stalled last year because Intel failed to provide its suppliers with enough CPUs.
Analysts at Gartner group said a shortage of CPUs stopped the PC market’s revival in its tracks.
The analyst stated that worldwide PC shipments in the fourth quarter were 68.6 million, down 4.3 percent on the year before.
This made for a dismal final three months came after year-on-year growth was reported in the previous two quarters.
The drop-in shipments was also blamed on political uncertainty.
Gartner senior principal analyst Mikako Kitagawa said the impact from the CPU shortage affected vendors’ ability to fulfil demand created by business PC upgrades.
“We expect this demand will be pushed forward into 2019 if CPU availability improves.”
Political and economic uncertainties in some countries, such as the UK and the US dampened PC demand.
“Consumer demand remained weak in the holiday season. Holiday sales are no longer a major factor driving consumer demand for PCs.”
Lenovo was the only vendor in the top six to see growth in Q4, with shipments climbing 5.9 percent to 16.6 million. Lenovo’s partnership with Fujitsu was a key factor in the performance, Gartner said.
The hike was enough to see Lenovo elevated to the top spot, displacing the maker of expensive printer ink HP.
