Guess what's one of the major drivers behind this growth - for the answer, see the bold line close to the end of this article:
techweb.com ________________________
Global Chip Sales Set Sizzling One-Month Mark
12/09/99, 1:19 p.m. ET), Semiconductor Business News
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Beating even the most bullish predictions, the worldwide semiconductor industry zoomed to sales of $13.4 billion in October, breaking the record $13.19 billion single-month mark set in November 1995, the SemiconductorIndustry Association (SIA) reported here Thursday.
"Our record sales in October are a continuation of the strong growth pattern that commenced in mid-1998," said George Scalise, SIA president. "October's numbers are outpacing our recently released forecast."
Scalise said the year-to-date numbers mean global sales will increase by 15.6 percent -- well past the 14.7 percent the SIA predicted back in October.
The SIA forecast continues to call for the industry to grow 21 percent with sales of $174 billion in 2000, with continued growth of 20 percent in 2001 and $209 billion in sales. In 2002, the industry should show 12 percent growth with sales reaching a record high of $234 billion.
Growth is being driven by the surge of wired and wireless information appliances, as well as Internet infrastructure products, the chip trade group said. Cellular phones will continue to be one of the major industry growth drivers.
The total market's year-to-year growth is 23.3 percent compared with October 1998. In the Japan and Asia markets, the industry grew at 37.7 percent and 35.6 percent, respectively, from last year. The Americas market was up 15.5 percent from last year, and Europe's sales grew at 10.4 percent.
__________________________________________________________________
Goutama |
