Global Shipments of PC Workstations Shrank Nearly 9% in 2023
March 15, 2024 | IDCEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
The global desktop and mobile workstation market reported a slight recovery as it exited 2023, with unit shipments growing 6.1% year over year in the fourth quarter (4Q23). According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Workstation Tracker, the 1.85 million units shipped in 4Q23 reversed five consecutive quarters of declining annual shipment growth.
For much of 2023, the workstation market was constrained by budget curtailments and inventory issues. The COVID-19 pandemic initially helped to drive demand but later contributed to excess shipments, culminating in record volume of over 7.6 million in 2022. The first half of 2023 thus saw a sharp contraction from weak demand and high channel inventory. Trends began to stabilize in the second half of the year as mainstream mobile workstation and entry fixed workstation demand improved, but nonetheless 2023 shipments shrank 8.8% year over year, marking the second worst percentage drop since IDC began tracking the market in 2008.
"2023 was undoubtedly tough in many respects, but we ended the year with some silver linings and expectations of better things going forward," said Jay Chou, research manager for IDC's Worldwide Client Devices Trackers. "For one, the market is still bigger than where things stood before the pandemic and is more resilient than the overall PC market. Beyond the short term, we expect several drivers to take place beginning in the latter half of 2024. With Windows 10 support expiring in late 2025, we expect enterprises to speed up the migration toward Windows 11, which should last through next year. We also expect new CPU and GPU launches to occur around this timeframe. Finally, current exploration around AI for work should translate into an expansion of use cases, including model development, across numerous industries."
Company Highlights
Dell remained firmly in the top position. Although Dell saw its shipment volume shrank slightly in 4Q23 versus a year ago, its steady performance enabled it to outperform the market for all of 2023. At number 2, HP Inc. underperformed against the market for most of 2023, but its 4Q23 volume growth was helped by channel replenishment of its entry systems. Third place Lenovo grew over 11% in 4Q23 but was still somewhat hampered by continued softness in the Chinese market.
IDC expects workstation shipments to grow 5.2% in 2024 as the market replenishes stock and prepares for refresh projects. The momentum will build through 2025 when growth should top 7.9%. Growth will moderate after the dash toward Windows 11 migration by late 2025, but the market will still see a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2% for the 2022—2028 forecast period.
Testimonial
"We’re proud to call I-Connect007 a trusted partner. Their innovative approach and industry insight made our podcast collaboration a success by connecting us with the right audience and delivering real results."
Julia McCaffrey - NCAB GroupSuggested Items
Flex Delivers Advanced Power Management for Next-Generation NVIDIA AI Infrastructure
08/07/2025 | FlexFlex announced a new power shelf system to fast-track 800 VDC power architectures and support the growing demands of AI infrastructure and AI factories.
Inside the AI Hardware Boom: Servers, Substrates and Advanced Packaging
08/07/2025 | Edy Yu, Printed Circuit Information, China, and Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007AI is rewriting the hardware playbook, marrying complex software and algorithms to run and improve machine and equipment operations. Sorting through, managing, and utilizing massive amounts of data takes tremendous data storage and processing power. Enter the new generation of supercomputers and data servers. The data servers being built today are not your momma’s server, as they say.
AI Is the Golden Track Reviving Electronics and PCBs
08/06/2025 | Edy Yu, Chief Editor, ECIO, and the I-Connect007 Editorial TeamRemember 2021? Despite COVID, the electronics industry hit a high. Then came the slide. By 2023, the industry was deep in the red. With inflation, policy shifts, and exchange rate shocks, the problems were long, and the outlook was bleak. Recovery finally appeared in 2024, but it was fragile. Automotive electronics slumped, wireless demand stayed soft, and the ride up was anything but smooth. Yet, amid the uncertainty, one bright track emerged: artificial intelligence (AI).
Dana on Data: Best Practices in Interpreting Drawing Notes—‘Use Latest Revision’
08/07/2025 | Dana Korf -- Column: Dana on DataThe global nature of electronics manufacturing requires clear, consistent, and precise communication, particularly in technical documentation. An area where miscommunication often arises is in interpreting drawing notes—small lines of text with the potential to dramatically impact product quality, manufacturing efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
Strengthening U.S.-Japan Industry Ties
08/11/2025 | Yusaku Kono, Global Electronics Association—East Asia Japan RepresentativeThe Global Electronics Association-East Asia (formerly known as IPC East Asia) hosted a high-level Executive Roundtable in Tokyo on March 5, bringing together more than 50 senior executives, policymakers, and experts from Japan’s electronics and manufacturing sectors.