Dylan McGrath
Page 1 of 2
EE Times
(07/01/2009 3:01 EDT)
SAN FRANCISCO?The second half of 2009 will bring welcome relief to the
semiconductor and capital equipment industries, according to market research
firm IC Insights Inc., which is predicting strong seasonal strength for
electronic system sales, worldwide gross domestic product (GDP) growth and
continuation of an IC inventory replenishment trend that began in the second
quarter.
Compared to a dismal first half, the second half of 2009 will bring 18 percent
growth in the worldwide semiconductor market, 43 percent growth in foundry sales
and a 28 percent increase in semiconductor capital equipment spending, according
to a soon-to-be released mid-year update from IC Insights.
IC Insights (Scottsdale, Ariz.) has been projecting for months that the
semiconductor industry would begin to rebound in the second half of this year.
In April, Bill McClean, the firm's president, reaffirmed IC Insights'
projections of double-digit semiconductor growth in 2010 and 2011 and said the
industry would begin to recover in the second half of the year.
In a report issued in May, McClean said the semiconductor market had finally hit
bottom and would gain momentum in the second half of the year.
In a research bulletin dated Wednesday (July 1), IC Insights said seasonal
strength is likely to propel second half cellphone and PC unit shipments up by
18 percent and 15 percent, respectively, compared to the first half of the year.
"While the velocity of the semiconductor industry recovery is subject to debate
(slow, moderate, fast, etc.), at least the discussion over the next few quarters
will be about how much sequential growth can be expected in instead of how far
the markets are going to fall," McClean wrote in the research bulletin.
