IDC and Mercury Research say things are getting better
Beancounters at IDC and Mercury Research have added up
the figures, divided by their shoesize and come up with the notion that
processor market is back on track after having a bad time in the recession.
Shipments in the fourth quarter in 2009 showed seasonal
increases over the previous quarter, and significant growth over the fourth
quarter in 2008. In addition, shipments of server processors also grew in the
fourth quarter. All of this is an indication that businesses may be
starting to buy systems again.
IDC said processor shipments in the fourth quarter for
2009 jumped 31.3 percent over the same period in 2008, and grew seasonally over
the third quarter in 2009. For all of 2009, PC processor shipments grew 2.5
percent, but revenue fell 7.1 percent, to $28.6 billion. IDC analyst Shane Rau said the huge rise in shipments
indicates that the market has put the recession behind it.
Mobile and server processors are driving the surge.
Shipments for mobile chips—used in such devices as netbooks—grew 11.7 percent over
the third quarter, while shipments of x86 processors jumped 14.1 percent over
the third quarter. Desktop processors grew 4.8 percent over the third quarter.
Dean McCarron of Mercury Research said that chip makers
shifted more than 100 million PC processors for the quarter, and mobile
processor shipments exceeded 50 million. He said that the industry recovery has been well underway
throughout 2009 but server and desktop CPUs still have not reached
the record levels seen in mid-2008, prior to the collapse in processor demand.
The processor market grew 9 percent in the fourth quarter
over the third quarter, which Mercury Research said mirrored traditional
seasonal patterns. Year over year, shipments in the fourth quarter grew almost
34 percent.