FRAMINGHAM, MA – The fourth quarter saw global shipments of PCs grow 26.1% year-over-year to 91.6 million units, according to International Data Corp. With the pandemic still in full swing, traditional PCs (inclusive of desktops, notebooks, and workstations) were once again an in-demand consumer technology.

The same category of devices grew 13.1% year-over-year for full-year 2020, with the catalysts being work-from-home, remote learning, and restored consumer demand.

“Every segment of the supply chain was stretched to its limits, as production once again lagged behind demand during the quarter," said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC's Mobile Device Trackers. "Not only were PC makers and ODMs dealing with component and production capacity shortages, but logistics remained an issue as vendors were forced to resort to air freight, upping costs at the expense of reducing delivery times."

The last time the PC market saw annual growth of this magnitude was 2010 when the market grew 13.7%, says IDC. After that, there were six years of PC market decline, as well as a year of flat growth. How long will this resurgence last?

"Demand is pushing the PC market forward, and all signs indicate this surge still has a way to go," said Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC's Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers. "The obvious drivers for last year's growth centered around work-from-home and remote learning needs, but the strength of the consumer market should not be overlooked. We continue to see gaming PCs and monitor sales at all-time highs, and Chrome-based devices are expanding beyond education into the consumer market. In retrospect, the pandemic not only fueled PC market demand but also created opportunities that resulted in a market expansion."