Global semiconductor revenue suffers Q4 decline
1 min read
After six consecutive quarters of sequential growth for the world's semiconductor suppliers, the fourth quarter of 2010 saw revenue contract by 3.7% over the previous period - the first quarterly retreat since the beginning of 2009.
According to new IHS iSuppli research, revenues for the 298 semiconductor suppliers tracked by the IHS Competitive Landscaping Tool fell to $77.2billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, down from $80.1bn in the previous quarter.
The last time a sequential decline happened in the semiconductor industry was during the recent global economic downturn. Following steep declines of 21.4% in the fourth quarter of 2008 and 18% in the first quarter of 2009, semiconductor revenues began to increase in the second quarter of 2009 and have risen every quarter until now.
Despite the disruption of normal seasonal patterns in Q4, IHS believes the semiconductor industry will return to a more normal cyclic contraction in the first quarter of 2011, followed by sequential growth through the end of the year. As a result, it forecasts that global semiconductor revenue in 2011 will grow 5.8% from last year.
