Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) has reported that
worldwide semiconductor sales in March 2010 were $23.1 billion,
an increase of 4.6 percent from February when sales were
$22.0 billion. Sales increased by 58.3 percent from March
2009 when sales were $14.6 billion. The first quarter of
2009 marked the low point in semiconductor sales during
the global economic recession. Sales for the first quarter
of 2010 were $69.2 billion compared to $43.7 billion for
the first quarter of 2009. All monthly sales numbers represent
a three-month moving average.
Comments from George Scalise, SIA President: "Foundries
and integrated device manufacturers are ramping production
to bring supply into line with expected demand levels. We
do not expect to see near-term issues with either excess
inventories or capacity due to strong unit demand in key
end markets. Computing and communications, which together
account for more than 60 percent of total demand for microchips,
are seeing healthy unit growth. PC unit sales are projected
to grow in the mid- to high-teens, and handset growth is
expected to be in the high single-digit range."
"The current results reflect improved sales in a variety
of market segments, including the enterprise sector where
recovery has been slower than in the consumer sector. Healthy
economic growth in China and growing demand for PCs and
cell phones in developing economies were major contributors
to growth in the first quarter. Continued growth for the
semiconductor industry is closely tied to continuation of
the global economic recovery. We remain cautiously optimistic
that global sales will show double-digit growth in 2010,"
Scalise concluded.
IDC's market report highlights: While many companies saw
revenue declines in 2009, there were several that were able
to grow the top line in 2009. Among them were Atheros, Cavium,
Mediatek, NetLogic, Synaptics, and Richtek, which all enjoyed
double digit year-over-year growth in 2009. DRAM memory
markets also partially bounced back in the second half of
2009, resulting in revenue growth for Samsung, Hynix, Elpida,
Micron, and Nanya Technology. Similarly, increased NAND
demand in the second half of 2009 helped NAND suppliers
such as Toshiba, Samsung, and Micron.
"This is not a surprise, as demand for wireless products,
intelligent networks, embedded processors, and touch-based
user interfaces increased tremendously in the second half
of 2009," said Mali Venkatesan, research manager at
IDC, who led the study and compiled the Semiconductor Market
Share market and company view.
"Overall, the semiconductor market in 2009 started
with doom and gloom, but ended up with optimism for a strong
recovery in 2010," added Venkatesan. "So far,
2010 is already proving to be very strong. Semiconductor
inventory checks indicate strong demand in the first half
of 2010 with order rates expected to normalize in the second
half of the year. Assuming there are no macroeconomic shocks
to global economy, IDC expects 2010 to be a banner year,
with 16-18% year-over-year semiconductor revenue growth.
The big question now is: What will be the market outlook
in 2011?"
