More evidence of the technology industry’s resilience in the face of the US economic downturn surfaced on Wednesday after two reports showed strong growth in personal computer shipments in Asia and Latin America offsetting weakness in the US market.

New quarterly PC figures from Gartner and IDC, the market research groups, showed healthy growth in PC shipments in the first quarter, with strong demand for laptop computers in emerging economies helping to offset anaemic growth in the US.

US shipments grew just 3 per cent in the period, according to Gartner, indicating that PC makers were beginning to feel the effects of the slowing US economy. The IDC figures showed a similar pattern.

“The US market is softening and this can potentially hasten downward price pressure and further intensify competition for the rest of 2008,” said Mika Kitagawa, a Gartner analyst.

The report came a day after Intel, the world’s biggest chipmaker, issued a reassuring forecast for the current quarter, saying it expected demand for PCs to remain solid in spite of recession concerns.

Concerns remain, however, with some industry-watchers questioning whether overseas markets will remain immune to US economic weakness, particularly if the turmoil associated with the US subprime mortgage crisis moves beyond the financial sector to hit broader corporate and consumer spending.

Dell, the world’s second biggest PC maker, notched some of the best shipment growth during the first quarter, according to the Gartner study.

Gartner said Dell’s PC shipments grew 21.8 per cent in the first three months of the year – a growth rate second only to Acer, its fast-growing Taiwanese rival, and ahead of arch-rival Hewlett-Packard.

HP shipments grew 17.5 per cent worldwide but the computer maker struggled to increase shipments in the US, where shipments fell 0.2 per cent year-on-year.

Intel shares rose 5.8 per cent on Wednesday ahead of the report, which came after the close. HP rose 2.8 per cent while Dell rose 2.4 per cent.