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Worldwide Hardcopy Peripherals Market Declined in 4Q11 But Maintains Positive Growth for 2011, Says IDC

  • Feb 21, 2012

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, the worldwide hardcopy peripherals market declined 4.5 percent year over year in the fourth quarter of 2011 (4Q11) on shipments of 34.9 million units. For the full year 2011, the global market experienced year-over-year growth of 0.7 percent with shipments approaching 126 million units.

The color laser market continues to show growth in the overall hardcopy peripherals market. This segment increased 7 percent year over year to more than 1.9 million units shipped in 4Q11. As color continues to penetrate the overall hardcopy market, the multifunction peripheral (MFP) market is weathering the current economy better than its single function counterparts, as products continue to make the transition toward multifunction, posting a 17 percent year-over-year increase compared to a 1 percent decline for single function printers.

"We expect the overall inkjet, color, and monochrome MFP markets will increase as the switch from single-function printers continues in 2012. IDC forecasts that the MFP market will increase in the high single digits in 2012," said Phuong Hang, program manager, Worldwide Hardcopy Peripheral Trackers.

Technology Highlights

  • Inkjet captured a 66 percent share of the total hardcopy peripherals market with more than 22.8 million units shipped in 4Q11, declining 6 percent year over year. While Japan posted a 4 percent year-over-year gain in inkjet technology, all other regions saw negative year-over-year growth in the fourth quarter of the year.
  • Monochrome laser accounted for 25 percent of the total market with close to 8.9 million units shipped in 4Q11. Monochrome laser printers remain the most prolific type of laser in the office with more than 5.1 million units.
  • Color laser grew 7 percent year over year to more than 1.9 million units shipped, resulting in 6 percent share in the total hardcopy peripherals market in 4Q11. Color laser MFP continues to show signs of expansion and has increased its share in the color laser space to by more than two points to 52 percent when compared to its share in 4Q10.

Vendor Highlights

  • HP maintained its lead in the global HCP market with more than 39 percent market share and more than 13.7 million units in 4Q11. The vendor declined 11.5 percent year over year, the steepest drop among the top 5 vendors. Despite showing growth in Japan, the vendor experienced year-over-year contraction across all other regions.
  • Canon, the No. 2 ranked vendor, captured close to 19 percent share in the total hardcopy peripherals market with shipments of 6.5 million units. Despite a year-over-year decline of 5.2 percent in the worldwide market, Canon enjoyed double-digit growth in the U.S. and in Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa (CEMA).
  • Epson strengthens its position as the number three vendor with nearly 17 percent share and more than 5.8 million units shipped in the fourth quarter of 2011. Epson grew 6.2 percent year over year and is the only vendor in the top three with a year-over-year gain. Japan was Epson's best performance region with 33 percent year-over-year growth, followed by Western Europe at 13 percent.
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