Semi sales set to get back on track
1 min read
Although global semiconductor revenue is still expected to decline for the second consecutive year, quarterly year over year growth is expected to return in the fourth quarter, according to market researchger iSuppli. This, it claims, will signal the start of the industry recovery.
According to iSuppli, global semiconductor revenue for 2009 is set to contract by 16.5%, following a 5.4% decrease in 2008. But the company believes Q4 revenues will rise by 10.6%, compared to the same period in 2008.
"The seeds of the current recovery were sown in the second quarter," said Dale Ford, iSuppli's senior vice president, market intelligence. "During that period, manufacturers began to report positive book to bill ratios, indicating future revenue growth. This was followed by another sequential increase in revenue in the third quarter.
"Meanwhile, semiconductor inventories returned to more normal levels in the third quarter after chip suppliers shed stockpiles. They did this by slashing costs dramatically in order to reduce unsold inventory they'd been carrying since the beginning of 2009."
Branding these signs as 'encouraging', iSuppli notes sequential quarterly increases in revenue will continue into 2010, but points out this growth will not be sufficient to lift semiconductor revenues back to prerecessionary levels until 2011 or 2012.
