Worldwide PC MPU shipments in the Q2 were up, but unfortunately they were not up on the return of significant end demand for PCs, according to a report released this morning by IDC. Instead, IDC analysis of the June quarter indicated that Intel and OEM inventory refreshes drove the performance gain, one that saw Q2 worldwide PC processor unit shipments increase 10.1 percent on a sequential basis.
The shipment growth compared to a 10.9 percent quarter-over-quarter decline in Q1. Year over year, Q2 unit shipments declined 7 percent.
According to IDC's data, market revenue increased 7.9 percent from Q1 to Q2, compared to an 11 percent decline from Q4 2008 to Q1. However, Q2 revenue declined 15.3 percent compared to the same quarter in 2008.
IDC noted that Intel's overall Q2 PC processor shipments increased 12.5 percent from Q1, while AMD's overall PC processor shipments increased 1.8 percent.
The research house noted that Intel's shipments of Atom processors designed for netbooks increased 34 percent in the June quarter, as compared to Q1. "This results indicates that mini-notebook OEMs, having held off buying Atom processors in Q1 and depleted their inventories, began refreshing those inventories in Q2," IDC said, estimating that the inexpensive Atom processors for mini-notebook PCs represented 25 percent of the company's mobile PC processor shipments in Q2 and 8.1 percent of the company's mobile PC processor revenues in the quarter.
"The percentage of Intel's revenue earned in Asia/Pacific grew from 51 percent in Q1 to 55 percent in Q2," said Shane Rau, director of IDC's semiconductors, personal computing research, in a statement today. "This fact, combined with the significant sequential 'snap-back' rise in Intel's overall processor shipments—particularly Atom shipments—while AMD's overall shipments were about flat, indicate that the PC processor market didn't recover in Q2. Instead, the market balanced out due to Intel driving Atom processors into ODMs who manufacture the systems, particularly in China and Taiwan."
IDC reported that in Q2 Intel earned 78.9 percent unit market share, a gain of 1.6 percent; while AMD earned 20.6 percent, a loss of 1.6 percent; and VIA Technologies earned 0.5 percent.
By form factor, Intel earned 86.9 percent share in the mobile PC processor segment, a gain of 2.6 percent; AMD finished with 12.6 percent, a loss of 2.4 percent; and VIA earned 0.5 percent. In the PC server/workstation processor segment, Intel finished with 89.9 percent market share, a gain of 0.5 percent and AMD earned 10.1 percent, a loss of 0.5 percent. In the desktop PC processor segment, Intel earned 70.2 percent and AMD earned 29.4 percent, IDC said, noting that share changes were negligible.
Despite the Q2 growth, IDC cautioned that because it has identified Intel and OEM's refreshing inventory as the major factors in driving increases and not the return of end demand, it cannot yet say that the PC processor market is recovering and said it is still is in weak condition.
"Going forward, IDC believes that ODMs and OEMs have balanced out their inventories and so we can't rely on inventory replenishment to drive market improvements," Rau said. "Instead, we can only rely on what actual end demand really is, and that means we have to be cautious not to be over-exuberant that, say, the traditional back-to-school PC buying season will materialize into a bullish second half. It won't."
Intel
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