Hardcopy Peripherals Shipments Show Modest Growth in 2Q18

The worldwide hardcopy peripherals (HCP) market grew 0.9% year over year with more than 23.5 million units shipped in the second quarter of 2018 (2Q18), according to IDC. Inkjet and laser unit shipments both expanded in the quarter, each growing 0.8% year over year.

HP remained the top HCP company with 3.5% year-over-year shipment growth. Third-ranked Epson and fourth-ranked Brother also saw positive year-over-year growth, while second-ranked Canon declined 4.4% year over year. Color laser 21-30 ppm devices recorded year-over-year growth of 41.1% in unit shipments. The double-digit expansion was helped by strong performances from the top companies, especially HP, Brother, Canon, and Xerox.

Epson enjoyed the largest year-over-year shipment growth, increasing 5.1% to more than 4.1 million units shipped. This was largely due to its strong growth within the Asia/Pacific and Japan regions where business inkjets and ink tank models continue to thrive. HP enjoyed a particularly strong performance in Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) and the U.S. HP's growth was driven by attractive inkjet pricing deals as well as strong demand from small business customers for the Color LaserJet Pro MFP M281, a color laser device.