Worldwide PC MPU shipments hit all-time record levels for a single quarter in 3Q09, according data released by IDC. The market research company reported that PC processor unit shipments were up 23 percent sequentially in 3Q, growth that is approximately double the normal growth in unit shipments for the same period. In terms of revenue, the PC processor market grew more than 14.1 percent quarter over quarter to $7.4 billion, IDC said.
Leading the way were mobile PC processors, which include Intel's Atom processors designed for netbooks and which increased 35.7 percent sequentially in the September quarter. Desktop PC processors grew 11.4 percent quarter over quarter and x86 server processors grew 12.2 percent quarter over quarter, according to IDC.
"The story about 3Q leads with Atom processors being sold in mini-notebooks (aka netbooks) manufactured and sold in China," said Shane Rau, director of semiconductors, personal computing research at IDC, in a statement.
Rau noted that while Atom processors led the PC processor market to reach record unit shipments, on the revenue side, their low ASPs (average selling prices) led to price erosion of more than 7 percent. Therefore, while market shipments rose 23 percent compared to 2Q, market revenue grew at a lesser 14.1 percent compared to 2Q, he explained.
"Most meaningful about 3Q09 is that, since PC processor shipments overall just slightly exceeded shipments in 3Q08—which was itself a record quarter at the time—we know that the processor market is recovering," Rau said.
According to IDC, Intel in 3Q earned 81.1 percent share of the worldwide PC processor market's unit shipments, a share gain of 2.2 percent; AMD earned 18.7 percent, a loss of 2 percent; and VIA Technologies earned 0.2 percent.
In 3Q by form factor, Intel earned 88 percent share in the mobile PC processor segment, a gain of 1.1 percent; AMD finished with 11.9 percent, a loss of 0.7 percent; and VIA earned 0.2 percent. In the PC server/workstation processor segment, Intel finished with 90.4 percent market share, a gain of 0.5 percent; and AMD earned 9.6 percent, a loss of 0.5 percent. In the desktop PC processor segment, Intel earned 72.2 percent, a gain of 2 percent; AMD earned 27.4 percent, a loss of 1.9 percent; and VIA earned 0.3 percent share, IDC reported.
IDC said that based on the market's "excellent" performance and signs early in 4Q that demand for PCs is healthy it has raised its forecast for PC processor unit shipments in 2009 to well over 300 million units and a unit growth rate of 1.5 percent compared to 2008.
"Compared to where the market was at the beginning of 2009, PC processors have come back remarkably strong," said Rau.
Still, the research company is remaining conservative about early 2010.
"While it's clear our concerns about the second half of the year weren't necessary, we're still watching for a 'gotcha' possibly in 1Q10," Rau said. "The market's growth has been due to shipments of inexpensive Atom processors being sold into markets like China, which is being stimulated by government incentives there. The Chinese market can be very opaque—there are lots of places where inventories can hide. We have to be on the lookout for when China decides it can’t consume more processors. Meanwhile, the US market is still hamstrung by housing foreclosures and rising job losses."
IDC
Intel
