IDC REPORTS WORLDWIDE PRINTER SALES DOWN IN Q2 2011

IDC REPORTS 
WORLDWIDE PRINTER SALES DOWN IN Q2 2011

Today, International Data Corporation (IDC) published its “Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker” for the second quarter of 2011, and the research firm saw a surprising decline in overall shipments. After seven consecutive quarter of growth, shipments of hardcopy peripherals fell 0.3 percent year-over-year in the second quarter. Altogether, 29 million units shipped in Q2. IDC says shipments were up 6 percent in emerging markets, but this was not enough to make up for the overall decline.

The research firm adds that 18.3 million inkjet units were shipped. While inkjet devices still account for 63 percent of all units shipped, the same as in the first quarter, this marked the lowest level of inkjet shipments seen since the second quarter of 2009. IDC says the laser market performed better, seeing a 4 percent year-over-year increase in shipments, and laser-based devices accounted for 32 percent of all shipments of printer and MFP hardware in the second quarter. Monochrome laser devices saw 5 percent year-over-year shipment growth, while color laser printers and MFPs saw a 3 percent decline in shipments.

In the second quarter, HP’s printer and MFP shipments were essentially flat, and Epson’s fell by 12.2 percent. The big winners in Q2 were Canon, which saw a 1.8 percent increase in shipments; Samsung, which saw a 3.2 percent increase; and Brother, which saw a 4.0 percent increase.

We are honestly not trying to pick on IDC today (see “IDC Says, ‘What Decline in Page Volumes?’ ” for our earlier article on IDC’s print volume research), but we have to ask: Wasn’t it just last quarter that the firm said the earthquake in Japan “will have little to no impact on the global imaging market,” and that any impact will be felt more for laser-based devices? (For coverage of IDC’s first-quarter hardcopy peripherals shipments, see “IDC Says Monochrome Laser Growing, Japan Quake Won’t Impact Shipments.”)

Curiously, IDC provided little in the way of explanation for the decline. The firm said only, “While the HCP [hardcopy peripherals] market is largely shaped by Japanese manufacturers, in both hardware and consumable supplies, IDC expects the production decline due to the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake in March to be short term.”

We can think of a few reasons for the decline in shipments in the second quarter. The first is that, as IDC seems to imply, the Japan earthquake may have indeed impacted shipments short term, particularly in the quarter immediately following the quake. Another is that more and more hardware is being placed under managed print service (MPS) contracts. This means hardware is being placed selectively, with an emphasis on the most cost-effective way to produce pages. This might explain why IDC has seen continued growth for laser hardware even as inkjet shipments declined year-over-year in the second quarter. It would also explain the growth of monochrome laser shipments and the decline on color laser shipments. Still another factor is overall economic uncertainty. With fears of a double-dip recession looming, both businesses and consumers may be hesitant to invest in new printers and MFPs.

We are now very curious to see what IDC finds in terms of hardware shipments in the third quarter. For the last several quarters, IDC’s “Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker” indicated a pattern of growth as world economies emerged from the recession and began spending on printers and MFPs again. We hope this slight downturn in the second quarter is just an anomaly and not a sign that the printer and MFP market will see further shipment declines ahead.