Chip industry set to rebound in 2002-forecast
SAN FRANCISCO, June 6 (Reuters) - After one its biggest slumps, the semiconductor industry will rebound in the second half of this year, grow 20 percent next year, and 25 percent in 2003, a trade group said on Wednesday.
What distinguishes this slump from the last one that began in 1996 when the industry took 12 quarters before cutting back on capacity is that in the current one, chip companies started paring capacity in only two quarters, said the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) in its midyear forecast.
"Despite the sales decline brought on by the excess inventory this year, the semiconductor market is still projected to grow from $149 billion in 1999 to $283 billion by 2004," said Kirk Pond, chairman, president and chief executive of Fairchild Semiconductor in a statement.
This year, the global chip market is forecast to shrink 14 percent, compared with a 16.5 percent decrease in 1985, the SIA said, though many analysts have said they still believe that 2001 could surpass 1985 as the biggest year-on-year decline in chip sales.
Continuing a trend begun several years ago, the Asia-Pacific region will experience rapid growth and close in on the America's market, which the SIA said will remain the biggest market, in terms of revenue, for the next four years.
A slowing U.S. economy and the resulting flagging demand for computers and electronic devices sparked the current downturn in the semiconductor industry, which is notorious for its boom-and-bust cycles. |
