IDC bumps up PC forecast

Market researcher IDC says notebook sales and business purchasing have boosted its 2003 growth forecast for PC shipments by two points. The company now predicts that this year's PC shipments, which include desktops, notebooks and servers priced at less than $25,000, will grow by 8.4 percent globally and 7.2 percent in the United States. In June, IDC had predicted that global shipments would increase by 6.3 percent in 2003, compared with 2002, while U.S. shipments would increase by 5.3 percent.

The Framingham, Mass.-based firm, which released a ream of second-quarter data on PC shipments and server revenue over the past week, revised its projection for several reasons, including a large increase in notebook shipments during the second quarter and a return of business PC buying, said Roger Kay, an IDC analyst.

Notebook PC shipments jumped by 22 percent year over year during the second quarter, IDC said Tuesday.