Record sales forecast for optoelectronics, sensors and discretes

The analyst's report, 2011 Optoelectronics, Sensors, and Discretes (OSD) cites above average growth rates in 2011 as the main driver. IC forecasts the optoelectronics market will grow 11% to $26.4billion in 2011, with sensor/actuator sales increasing 15% to $8.5bn and discretes rising 8% to $23.4bn this year. According to the report, sales growth in these semiconductor market segments is being driven by strong demand for accelerometers and gyroscope sensors built with MEMS technology, high brightness LEDs, optical network laser transmitters, cmos image sensors, and power transistors. In the 2010 semiconductor recovery from the 2009 downturn year, the optoelectronic, sensor/actuator, and discrete markets racked up gains with combined OSD revenues rising 37% to a record high total of $52.9bn. The 2010 increase was the highest annual growth ever recorded for total OSD sales. Due to a relatively weak recovery in image sensors, 2010 optoelectronics sales grew 30% to $23.9bn, which was the fifth largest increase for this market in three decades. Meanwhile, sensors/actuators sales surged 45% in 2010 to $7.4bn, which was the greatest increase ever for this industry category, while discretes revenues climbed 42% to $21.6bn, which was the highest percentage growth for this commodity filled semiconductor market since the 1970s. The report adds that while much of the 2010 increase in OSD sales was driven by the economic recovery and the need to refill depleted inventories, substantial real market growth occurred last year, going beyond just making up for lost growth in the downturn. When the combined effects of the 2009 slump and 2010 recovery are added together, all three OSD market segments exceeded their normal annual average growth rates in the two year period. All three segments also reached new annual sales records in 2010.