Semiconductor industry posts decline for second year in a row

According to Gartner, the semiconductor industry will post a revenue decline for only the sixth time in the last 25 years, with worldwide revenue totalling $226billion in 2009, an 11.4% decline from 2008. Stephan Ohr, Gartner's semiconductor research director, revenue dropped sharply in the first quarter of 2009, continuing a deterioration that started in the last quarter of 2008. He said: "A small uptick, noted toward the end of the first quarter led to significant quarter over quarter growth in the periods that followed." This is the first year that the semiconductor industry has posted declines two years in a row, with 2008 revenues declining by 4.4%. Ohr added: "With the market emerging from recession, semiconductor vendors need to track the end users' spending patterns through 2010 in order to detect any disruptions in demand – or additional demands that outstrip capacity. Neither the recession nor its recovery was felt equally by all semiconductor vendors. The pc segment was the first to spring back, followed later in the year by other segments reflecting consumer sentiment, like cell phones and automobiles. Enterprise spending was most deeply impacted by the recession and remains slow to recover."