The worldwide hardcopy peripherals (HCP) market saw unit shipments decline 17.6% year over year to 22.3 million units in the fourth quarter of 2021 (4Q21). Shipment value was also down 12.3% year over year during the quarter to $9.7 billion, according to new data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker. Manufacturing constraints and logistical issues continued to dampen growth opportunities for most brands through the end of the year.

Notable highlights from the quarter include:

• Most vendors experienced inventory shortfalls in the quarter due to logistical and operational issues, such as production capacity. As a result, nearly all the regional markets saw year-over-year contractions in 4Q21. Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan and China) (APeJC) recorded the smallest year-over-year decline (-0.9%) due to a strong performance in the laser segment, specifically the A4 Mono segment. Since pandemic lockdown restrictions have been lifted, overall commercial spending has increased, which strengthened demand in the APeJC region.
• Pantum recorded the best year-over-year growth among the top 5 HCP companies, increasing unit shipments 81.3% year over year to nearly 446 thousand. The company's shipments for both online and offline sales increased significantly during the quarter as it managed to get sufficient supply. This was due to an increased supply of chips from Apexmic, a chipset manufacturer owned by Ninestar.

Notes:

• IDC tracks A2-A4 devices in the Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals.
• Hardcopy Peripherals include single-function printers, multifunctional systems (MFPs), and single-function digital copiers (SF DC). Data for all vendors are reported for calendar periods.

In addition to the table above, a graphic showing the worldwide market share of the top 5 hardcopy peripherals companies over the previous five quarters is available by viewing this press release on IDC.com.

For more information about IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, please contact Phuong Hang at phang@idc.com.

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The worldwide hardcopy peripherals (HCP) market saw unit shipments decline 17.6% year over year to 22.3 million units in Q4 2021, according to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker.