PC makers caught off guard as shipments unable to meet user demand amid coronavirus disruption

Demand for personal computers (PC) surged in the March quarter as millions of people worked from home amid the coronavirus outbreak but shipments fell due to supply chain disruptions, a new report showed.

Global personal computer shipments including desktops, notebooks, and workstations declined 8 per cent year on year to 53.7 million units in the first three months of the year mainly due to supply constraints, according to a report published on Saturday by research firm Canalys. It was the biggest quarterly decline since the first quarter of 2016 and compares with a 5 per cent increase in the fourth quarter of last year.

The coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 1.6 million people worldwide, has forced millions of workers and students to stay at home after governments issued social distancing policies to try and stem the spread of the virus, driving up demand for electronics hardware and communications software to enable people to stay connected while in isolation.

The surge in demand from both businesses and individuals spurred PC orders, the report said, adding that computer vendors will report “healthy profits” over the next few weeks as consumers were willing to prioritise speed of supply over purchase price.

“Firms and individuals are becoming less sensitive to prices,” Canalys analyst Nicole Peng told the Post. “From our surveys of suppliers, the demand for PCs was on the rise in Q1 compared with the same period a year ago but many said they didn’t stock enough inventory to cope with the sudden surge in demand. Inventory is being depleted very quickly.”

Rushabh Doshi, research director at Canalys, said PC makers started out the year with a “constrained supply of Intel processors”, which was exacerbated as factories in China delayed production due to protracted measures to stem the virus after the Lunar New Year.