PC Shipments Up 17% in First Quarter

Personal computer shipments increased 17% in the first quarter from a year earlier, led by direct sellers Dell Computer and Gateway and by IBM, which continued to sell machines at a loss. Companies shipped an estimated 25 million computers, according to preliminary estimates by GartnerGroup’s Dataquest. U.S. shipments reached about 9.7 million units, up 21% from a year earlier but down from the fourth quarter of 1998. Average selling prices continued to fall. “The global PC market was not only fortified by a steady U.S. market, but also by continued health in the Western European market,” Dataquest analyst David Stremba said. Dell shipments increased 49%, boosting its No. 2 share of the worldwide PC market to 9.2% from 7.2%. No. 1 Compaq Computer Corp. shipped 10% more computers than a year earlier but saw its market share slide to 13.4% from 14.3%. IBM, which had the second spot a year ago, slipped a notch even as it increased its share to 8.4% from 7.5%.