14 DAY TRIAL // Even though iSupply was originally more optimistic when it came to potential semiconductor revenues for 2010, the market analysis firm has since revised its outlook, though the year is still expected to show a substantial on-year improvement.
After studying the more recent trends on the market, iSupply reached the conclusion that total semiconductor sales will amount to $302 billion in 2010.
This is a significant jump from the $228 billion of 2009 and corresponds to a 32 percent revenues growth.
The 32 percent figure may be somewhat smaller than the 35.1 percent originally predicted, but it still marks what the company calls “a year of impressive growth and record-setting revenue for the semiconductor industry.”
One factor behind this downward adjustment is the decline that the fourth quarter is expected to suffer from, to the point where revenues for the second half of the year will grow by 'just' 7.8 percent.
As a comparison, revenues rose, during the first two quarters of 2010, by 10.7 percent compared to the second half of the previous year.
“There has been a significant slowdown in the second half in consumer demand for some electronic devices, including PCs,” noted Dale Ford, senior vice president at iSuppli.
“Meanwhile, inventories have been building throughout the semiconductor supply chain. These factors will conspire to cause a small sequential decline in semiconductor revenue in the fourth quarter,” Ford added.
“Unstable economic conditions and worrisome market reports continue to create an environment of poor visibility and ongoing uncertainty in the electronics industry,” Ford said.
“This has led to frequently expressed concerns regarding a potential double-dip downturn in both the overall economy and in the electronics and semiconductor industries,” he went on to saying.
“However, based on its most recent analysis of the electronics supply chain, iSuppli expects the chip business to experience a soft landing in 2011 and not to suffer the kind of dramatic downturn seen in 2009,” Ford concluded.