While U.S. shipments of desktops, notebooks and workstations fell by 12 percent year on year in Q3 2022 to 17.8 million units, commercial demand, which has been strong in recent quarters, slowed only slightly, as the segment stayed relatively flat in Q3

“The US PC market was already in an extended period of contraction as both consumer and education demand struggled with inflation and saturation,” said Brian Lynch, Canalys Research Analyst. “Now, the previously resilient commercial segment has started to wane, posting its first year-on-year decline in 2022. The ISM Services and Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Indexes have both steadily declined since late 2021 and are now at their lowest levels since the onset of the pandemic. Inflationary pressure, interest rate hikes and cost-cutting measures are beginning to squeeze spending by IT managers. While overall employment remains strong, the onset of layoffs in the tech and finance industries is an early sign that business spending on PCs may become even more cautious in the first half of 2023. Nevertheless, the fundamental importance of PCs in supporting trends such as hybrid work and digital transformation means the long-term outlook remains positive. Device lifespans will be extended in the short term as firms navigate the current economic uncertainty.” 

Dell Technologies held onto first place in the US desktop and notebook market in Q3 with a 26% market share, but its shipments were down 17% year on year. HP shipped 4.1 million units to secure second place but suffered the largest fall of the top five vendors, with shipments down 23%. Apple performed well in Q3 with 26% growth as it benefited from fulfilling backlogged orders from a supply crunched Q2 and launched new M2 devices. Lenovo fell to fourth place as it struggled in the commercial segment. Acer came fifth with strong growth of 14%.

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