Apple dropped to fifth in U.S. laptop sales, down from fourth last year, Electronista reports, citing early estimates from IDC.

Toshiba, which was No.5 last winter, is expected to take Apple's spot, but Apple will maintain its market share the IDC says. Mac shipments will fall 12.4% to 1.21 million units.

The top three in laptop sales are Dell, HP and Acer. Dell is the only other company in the top five that's expected to lose market share. Acer is predicted to have grown the fastest at a 51% increase in shipments.

IDC expects the U.S. computer business to have shrunk 3% since last year.

Electronista argues the numbers show that a company offering more affordable laptops will sell more units during a recession:

Electronista: IDC wouldn't speculate on each brand, but it's commonly believed that the relatively high prices of Macs hurt Apple for most of the quarter, steering those still sensitive to the economy towards lower cost brands or else keeping them from buying altogether. Sweeping MacBook Pro updates that included lower prices only came in mid-June and were unlikely to have had a significant impact.