March 2 (Bloomberg) -- Personal-computer shipments will drop the most ever this year as users hold off buying new machines in the recession, Gartner Inc. said.

Shipments will total 257 million units this year, down 12 percent from 2008, the Stamford, Connecticut-based research firm said in a release today. Until now, the worst drop was in 2001, when shipments fell 3.2 percent.

Businesses and consumers are cutting back technology spending to save cash as companies’ sales drop and unemployment increases. Hewlett-Packard Co., the world’s largest personal- computer maker, cut its 2009 profit estimate last month on falling PC demand. Dell Inc., the No. 2, has slashed jobs and costs to keep up with slowing demand.

“The PC industry is facing extraordinary conditions as the global economy continues to weaken, users stretch PC lifetimes and PC suppliers grow increasingly cautious,” said George Shiffler, a Gartner research director.

Shipments in emerging markets will fall 10 percent, while sales in mature markets will decline 13 percent, Gartner said. Users replacing their old computers usually make up about 80 percent of shipments in mature markets, Shiffler said.

Sales of desktop computers will drop 32 percent to 101.4 million units, Gartner said. Shipments of portable computers will increase 9 percent to 155.6 million, led by rising demand for mini-notebooks, or so-called netbooks.

Hewlett-Packard, based in Palo Alto, California, fell 96 cents, or 3.3 percent, to $28.07 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Dell, based in Round Rock, Texas, fell 10 cents to $8.43 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

To contact the reporter on this story: Katie Hoffmann in New York at +1-212-617-5327 or khoffmann4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Julie Alnwick at +1-212-617-8960 or jalnwick@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 2, 2009 16:09 EST