PC analyst IDC has raised its 2002 growth forecast for PC shipments from 1.8 percent to 3 percent. The firm cites stronger than expected retail sales and growing demand in Western Europe as reasons for the revision. Shipments are expected to decline in the first quarter from the year-ago period, but grow upwards of 10 percent in the third and fourth quarters. In 2001, worldwide shipments of PCs declined 5.1 percent for the first time since 1985, according to IDC.
