Lenovo’s notebook shipments in 2009 are expected to surpass 13 million units as demand for enterprise notebooks is rising. The company will also have a chance to surpass Toshiba to become the fourth largest global notebook vendor in the fourth quarter, according to industry sources citing figures from IDC.

Following an organizational restructuring earlier in the year, and benefiting from the China government’s consumer electronics promotion program in rural areas, as well as rising demand from the enterprise market, Lenovo’s notebook shipments rose from about three million units in the second quarter to four million units in the third, and are expected to climb to 4.5-5 million units in the fourth quarter, the sources noted.

In addition to China, Lenovo also had strong notebook shipments to the educational, commercial and manufacturing sectors in Taiwan.

Since Lenovo’s global notebook shipments share in the third quarter was only 0.2pp behind the fourth-largest vendor, Toshiba, the sources forecast that Lenovo will have a chance to surpass Toshiba in the fourth quarter.