Shipments of PCs are continuing to drop as more workers rely on mobile products such as smart phones and tablets as their primary computing devices.

According to a new report by International Data Corp., worldwide PC shipments are expected to fall by 10.1 percent in 2013, compared with IDC’s previous projection of 9.7 percent -- by far the most severe yearly contraction on record.

IDC’s “Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker” says interest in PCs has remained limited, leading to little indication of positive growth beyond the replacement of existing systems. Total shipments are expected to decline by an additional 3.8 percent in 2014 before turning slightly positive in the longer term.

At these rates, total PC shipments will remain just above 300 million during the forecast, barely ahead of 2008 volumes. Even in emerging markets shipments are projected to decline in 2014 and recover by only a few percent during the forecast.

"Perhaps the chief concern for future PC demand is a lack of reasons to replace an older system," Jay Chou, senior research analyst at IDC, said in a statement. "While IDC research finds that the PC still remains the primary computing device — for example, PCs are used more hours per day than tablets or phones — PC usage is nonetheless declining each year as more devices become available.”