The coronavirus outbreak could lead to a drop of at least 3.3 per cent in global PC shipments, according to research firm Canalys, TechCrunch reported on Friday.

The COVID-19 outbreak which has disrupted the Chinese economy could result in a dip as high as 9 per cent in the volume of PC shipments, according to the report.

PC shipments will come down by 10.1 per cent to 20.6% in Q1 2020, according to Canalys’estimates. The visible impact of the outbreak would be in Q2 where shipments are expected to drop as low as 8.9 per cent impact will remain visible in Q2, when the shipments are expected to drop by 8.9 per cent or 23.4 per cent in a worst-case scenario.

China, the epicentre of the outbreak is one of the world’s largest PC markets. It is also has been the most impacted. The Chinese market is bound to suffer heavily in 2020 as the outbreak continues, with a 12 per cent YoY decline over 2019. The expected CAGR between 2021 and 2024 in China is 6.3 per cent according to the report.

The supply chain disruption of global firms such as Apple supplier -Foxconn which has now temporarily closed operations in China has added to the decline.

Apple had earlier announced that it would not be able to meet its revenue targets for its March quarter due to the epidemic. Apple had forecasted revenue of $63 billion to $67 billion for the quarter.

The PC market had seen growth for the first time in 2019 since 2011, according to a Gartner report.

CY 2019 saw shipments of 261 million PCs, a growth of 0.6 per cent from 2018, according to the report.

The death toll due to the COVID-19 outbreak in China had surpassed 2,236 with more than 75,000 confirmed cases worldwide on Friday, according to media reports.

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