Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) share in PC Shipment rise to all-time high

Global PC shipments are set to decline this year about a percent from last year, but Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL)’s market share in PC shipments has risen to an all-time high in the third quarter of 201, according to estimates released on Wednesday.

Gartner’s preliminary U.S. estimates showed that Apple "which shipped more than 2 million units to garner 13.6 percent of the market in the third quarter, remain firmly in third place behind HP and Dell, though both leaders saw double-digit contractions of 19.3 percent and 15.9 percent, respectively," AppleInsider reported.

"Market leader HP shipped over 4.1 million PCs in the September quarter to capture 27 percent of the U.S. market, while Dell managed over 3.2 million units to end with a 21.4 percent share."

Lenovo was in fourth place right behind Apple and was the only company among the top five which showed a growth of 6.1 percent, while market share rose to 8.9 percent this year compared to 7.2 percent a year earlier.

"The third quarter has historically been driven by back-to-school sales, but U.S. PC shipments did not increase, not even sequentially, from the second quarter of 2012. Channels were conservative in placing orders," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. "Professional PC shipments in the U.S. began slowing in the second quarter of this year, and they continued the trend in the third quarter. The results indicate that the replacement peak may have passed in the professional sector."

Toshiba sales dipped by a third, the great decline among the OEMs and was the last among the top six companies.

Global PC shipments saw a 13.8 percent decline year on year.