A new analytical report states that PC shipments (excluding tablets) to the United States grew 6% year on year to 17.7 million units in Q4 2024, driven by strong performance in the commercial segment.

Looking ahead, the US PC market is expected to perform modestly well but faces challenges from volatile trade policies that will likely result in higher prices for consumers and businesses. Total PC shipments to the US are expected to fall just shy of 2% growth in both 2025 and 2026 with volumes hovering between 70 to 72 million units each year.

While the US PC market will continue to be bolstered by the Windows refresh, there are new headwinds in the form of tariffs and associated inflation. “President Trump’s ongoing trade war with Canada, Mexico and China has had swift negative repercussions for the stock market and pushed the US GDP growth forecast for Q1 2025 into negative territory,” said Canalys Analyst Greg Davis. “In addition to the direct impact of tariffs, the stop-start nature of announcements and delays have cast uncertainty around pricing for consumer electronics this year. The tariffs have prompted mitigating actions across the PC industry, with vendors and channel partners engaging in some recent stockpiling of devices.” A Canalys poll of US channel partners revealed that 50% held five weeks or more of PC inventory in January 2025, up from 29% in November 2024.

“The new policies have also been a catalyst for positive developments, with TSMC and Apple recently announcing major manufacturing investments in the US,” added Davis. “Combined, the two companies announced intentions to invest US$665 billion in production facilities, R&D, training and more. However, it will be some time before the benefits from these investments materialize.”

Q4 2024 saw Apple eclipse Lenovo for the third overall spot in vendor rankings, achieving this position for the first time since Q3 2022. “Apple enjoyed 26% annual growth for Mac shipments to the US, breaking the 3-million-unit mark in Q4,” said Davis.

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Side Note: It should be noted that while Apple may have escaped Trump's Tariffs, Canadians may decide to boycott U.S. PC's and smartphone brands if the tariff war doesn't subside by the time new products roll out this fall.