Hassouna Al Tayeb (Abu Dhabi)
At their fastest rate of decline in more than 20 years, personal computers suffered a significant drop in their exports of nearly 20%, notwithstanding the back-to-school promotions, which failed to drive sales.
And the demand for these devices declined, after sales rebounded during the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic, which was followed by slow consumer spending in the electronics sector. Personal computer exports declined during the third quarter, by 19.5%, compared to the same period last year, indicating the sharpest decline in more than two decades. The exports of these devices manufacturers globally reached 68 million units during the last quarter of this year, down from 84.5 million units exported in the same period of 2021, according to the Wall Street Journal.
According to Gartner Research Strategist Mikako Kitagawa, the PC market is going through a historic phase of decline in its exports this quarter. While the turmoil in global supply chains has subsided, production backlog has turned into a major problem in light of weak demand for devices, at the level of the public and private sector markets.
The backlog of container carriers, from New York to Houston, has spilled over into American supply chains, which are already struggling. Also, the sales that coincided with the back-to-school season, were not up to expectations, regardless of the promotion campaigns and price cuts, which aim to revive sales. The slow growth of the global economy also resulted in the business sector being more cautious with regard to spending decisions.
And the personal computer market in America suffered a decline of 17.3% during the third quarter of this year, driven by a decline in laptop sales, according to Gartner Research.
On the other hand, International Data, which works in the field of data collection, said that global exports of personal computers declined by 15% during the third quarter, to 74.3 million units, although they remained above levels before the outbreak of the Covid 19 epidemic.
The sector was able to achieve great profits, benefiting from the revival in sales of electronic devices, thanks to the demand of families and businesses to buy personal computers, due to the need to work remotely and for students to receive their lessons from home. But it is not easy for the consumer to return to such levels soon, due to his reluctance to spend, in light of high inflation rates and the emergence of other conditions related to the economy as a whole.
Large companies working in the manufacture of personal computers, such as HP and Dell Technologies, have warned of the decline in consumer demand over the past few months, and the impact on supply chains.
Meanwhile, Advance Micro Devices, the chip maker, cut its forecast for the third quarter, taking into account lower-than-expected demand for personal computers that use these chips. The company expects sales of $5.6 billion for the quarter, down from its previous forecast of $1.1 billion.