14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that while some segments of the IT market are on the wane, others are actually doing quite well, one of them being that for TFT-LCD equipment, a market set to grow substantially compared to last year.
As end-users no doubt know, the economic recession was worst in 2008, or so analysts say, but it did not end with that.
In fact, the effects of said recession were felt strongly even in 2009, despite overall recovery, not to mention that Europe just now seems to be getting its own turn at economic downturn.
Regardless, the fact is that, last year, 2009, the TFT-LCD equipment market experienced an on-year drop of 16%.
Now, it appears that the same segment will actually skyrocket, or has already skyrocketed and will reach high by year's end.
For those interested in numbers, a report says that, according to The Information Network, sales will grow by 66.8 percent in 2010.
Ulvac will keep being the major supplier or equipment, keeping its leading position that it has had over the past four years.
Tokyo Electron is second, with less than half its revenues, while Applied Materials/AKT, the only non-Japanese maker of TFT-LCD equipment, had US$402 million last year.
All in all, sales of the array processing equipment surged along with high TV purchases, as well as the good performance of desktops and notebooks.
"The 66.8% growth is the greatest since 2000," said Robert Castellano, president of The Information Network. "At the end of 2009 we saw utilization rates above 90% for all TFT-LCD manufacturing and nearly 95% for G6 and above plants - a driver for increased capex and equipment purchases in 2010."
What remains to be seen is just how the rest of the industry fares and if overall results prove as favorable as companies hope at the end of December.