Global semiconductor revenue to grow 27 percent in 2010: Gartner

By siliconindia   |   Friday, 04 June 2010, 15:20 IST
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Global semiconductor revenue to grow 27 percent in 2010: Gartner
Helsinki: With a growing recovery in PC and cellphone sales, the worldwide semiconductor revenue in 2010 is forecast to reach $290 billion in 2010, a 27.1 percent increase from 2009 revenue of $228 billion, according to the research firm Gartner. "Sequential semiconductor growth has been very strong over the last five quarters, well above seasonal norms, and manufacturing capacity is tight" said Bryan Lewis, Research Vice President at Gartner. "Chip revenue growth is clearly outpacing system revenue growth, and that is a concern," he said. Gartner said it expected market growth to slow somewhat in the second half of the year, saying it saw "a minor correction to realign semiconductor sales with electronic system sales." The PC and mobile phone markets will account for about 40 percent of the semiconductor market's growth in 2010. In the PC market, processor average selling prices (ASPs) are firming, and 2010 PC processor revenue is now expected to grow 15.5 percent, up from 10.0 percent in the previous update. Strong PC growth coupled with rising DRAM prices is causing the 2010 DRAM market to surge 78 percent, making it the strongest-performing semiconductor device market. Analysts believe that the demand for media tablets, such as Apple's iPad, will noticeably impact the PC market by 2013, further fueling growth in this category. However, in the near-term, these devices will have a minimal impact on PC and smartphone markets. Gartner analysts expect the semiconductor industry to show continued growth through its forecast period in 2014. The market is on track to surpass the $300 billion mark in 2011, when the market is forecast to total $307 billion. Intel, Samsung Electronics and Toshiba are the world's largest semiconductor firms, ahead of Texas Instruments, STMicro and Qualcomm.