1Q 2017: USA PC Vendor market share: HP 29.1%, Dell 26.4%, Lenovo 14% says Gartner.

HP showed the strongest growth among the top six vendors, as its global PC shipments increased 6.5 percent in the first quarter of 2017. HP's shipments grew in all regions, and it did especially well in the U.S. market, where it had a 15.9 percent increase in PC shipments (see Table 2).

Dell has achieved four consecutive quarters of year-over-year growth. It had PC shipment increases in all regions except the U.S. Dell enhanced its channel program and expanded its share in the large-enterprise market.

The PC industry is also experiencing a price increase. Over two years ago, the price hike was attributed to the local currency deterioration against the U.S. dollar. This time around, the price hike is due to a component shortage.

"DRAM prices have doubled since the middle of 2016, and SSD has been in short supply as well," Ms. Kitagawa said. "The price hike will suppress PC demand even further in the consumer market, discouraging buyers away from PC purchases unless it is absolutely necessary. The price hike started affecting the market in 1Q17. This issue will grow into a much bigger problem in 2Q17, and we expect it to continue throughout 2017."

In the U.S., PC shipments totaled 12.3 million units in the first quarter of 2017, a 2.4 percent decline from the first quarter of 2016. The U.S. market has experienced a modest decline for two quarters. Much of the decline is attributed to the weak consumer market.