PC Shipments Decline by 6 Million

Shipments of personal computers, hit by a steep decline in shipping by onetime industry leader Dell, fell 8.1 percent worldwide in the first quarter, according to a report released Friday.

The iSuppli research firm said the decline compared to the first quarter a year ago was the worst it had recorded in its seven years of tracking PC shipments. The drop in the declining global economy sent shipments down 14.4 percent in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2008.

Long the world’s top seller of computer desktops, No. 2 provider Dell saw its global shipments fall 18.7 percent in the first quarter compared to the first quarter of 2008. That cut more than 200,000 PCs from Dell’s shipment count for the quarter, iSuppli said.

The firm said some 66.5 million PCs were shipped in the first quarter, nearly 6 million fewer than the same quarter last year.