Apple’s 40% decline in Q1 sales was the largest among the major manufacturers of computers, according to a report

As the demand boom fueled by pandemic-era remote work dissipated, PC maker shipments as a whole fell 29% to 56.9 million units.

Personal computer shipments from Apple Inc. decreased by 40.5% in the first quarter, signaling a challenging start to the year for PC manufacturers who are still coping with a surplus of unsold inventory.

According to IDC’s most recent data, as the demand surge fueled by pandemic-era remote work vanished, shipments by all PC makers combined declined 29% to 56.9 million units, and fell below the levels of early 2019. Among the market leaders, HP Inc. fell by 24.2%, while Lenovo Group Ltd. and Dell Technologies Inc. both had declines of more than 30%. The slowdown affected every major brand, and Asustek Computer Inc., which finished in the top 5, had a decline of 30.3%.

Double-digit decreases in smartphone shipments and an increasing surplus among the top memory chip suppliers in the world have been caused by the slowdown in consumer spending over the past year. Samsung Electronics Co., which makes memory for desktop and laptop computers as well as portable devices, announced last week that it is reducing memory manufacturing after posting its smallest profit since the 2009 financial crisis.

Even while channel inventory has decreased over the past few months, Jitesh Ubrani, an IDC research manager, noted that it is still significantly higher than the ideal four to six week range. Even with significant discounts, distributors and PC manufacturers should anticipate that there will be high inventories through the middle of the year and possibly into the third quarter.

One bright spot is that manufacturers now have more time and flexibility to make changes as many facilities start to look into production choices outside of China, according to IDC’s analysis. As simmering tensions between Washington and Beijing threaten to destabilize its carefully crafted supply chain, Apple is progressively expanding the geographic scope of its manufacturing base.

The IDC experts predict a potential resurgence for PC manufacturers in 2024, driven by a combination of outdated technology that will need to be replaced and a strengthening global economy.