IDC: Good and Bad News for Microprocessor Shipments

November 5th, 2008

For all the talk of a down economy, worldwide PC microprocessor shipments aren’t feeling the pinch just yet. In fact, shipments in the third quarter of 2008 reached record levels once again, according to new data from market-research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).Consider the statistics: Worldwide PC processor unit shipments grew 14 percent quarter over quarter and 15.8 percent year over year. Market revenue grew 7.6 percent quarter over quarter and 4.1 percent year over year to $8.3 billion.

According to IDC, Intel’s new Atom processor for ultra-low-cost mobile PCs — which Intel calls netbooks — made a notable difference in the overall market performance. When researchers removed Atom from the equation, unit shipments grew 8.3 percent quarter over quarter and 8.7 percent year over year.

“Not considering the effects of Atom, the overall market still grew at a decent pace in the third quarter,” said Shane Rau of IDC. “Intel’s and AMD’s shipments grew at a rate only slightly slower than typical for a third quarter, and seasonal demand appeared reasonable up until September. By segment, while the mobile-processor segment grew aggressively, the server segment was soft.”

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