EL SEGUNDO, CA – Acer Inc. supplanted rival Lenovo as the world’s third largest PC supplier in the first quarter, according to iSuppli Corp.

Acer also posted the best growth performance among the Top-5 PC suppliers on a year-over-year basis. PC shipments at the Taiwanese company rose 45.8% to 4.2 million units, up from 2.9 million last year.

The company also achieved the largest percentage increase in unit shipments among the Top-5 suppliers in the fourth quarter, posting a 42.7% rise year-over-year. In the fourth quarter, Acer displaced Toshiba for third in worldwide notebook PC market.

Acer and No. 1 Hewlett Packard. were the standouts among the Top-5 PC suppliers, with year-to-year growth rates surpassing those of Lenovo, Toshiba and Dell.

Dell was the only PC OEM among the Top-5 to suffer a decline in units compared to the same period last year. The one-time leader saw units drop 6.8%, to nine million.

Dell’s performance pales against its competitors. During the quarter, collective unit shipments by the Top-5 PC makers increased 14.2% compared to last year, exceeding overall industry growth of 8.7%.

However, Dell announced a plan in the second quarter to sell PCs through Wal-Mart in North America. The company also restored founder Michael Dell to the role of CEO, and added Michael Cannon, the former CEO of Solectron.

Dell’s moves may be bearing fruit, said iSuppli. Although company unit shipments were down 6.8% in the first quarter, the decline was less than the 8.6% decrease in the fourth quarter.

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