Gartner: Chip market to stay strong
By Reuters
Story last modified June 2, 2004, 5:52 AM PDT
TOKYO--Research company Gartner on Wednesday became the latest group to project strong growth in global chip demand, saying semiconductor sales are likely to grow more than 25 percent this year, followed by a 15 percent gain in 2005.
Over the next five years, global chip demand is expected to grow 69 percent to $299.3 billion in 2008, up from $177.2 billion in 2003, Richard Gordon, a research vice president for Gartner, told a seminar.
"I think the market--I know the market--is recovering very strongly in 2004," Gordon said. "I guarantee you we'll see growth in excess of 25 percent this year."
His comments follow a bullish forecast by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics group on Tuesday.
The trade organization said global chip sales were likely to grow 28.4 percent in 2004, boosted by strong demand for personal computers, mobile phones, DVD recorders and other electronics products.
For 2005, Gartner projected 15 percent growth--even stronger than the forecast of 8 percent growth by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics group.
"2005 is a bit more of a tricky forecast, because I think it is going to be a transition year between a high-growth era and a slightly slower growth era in 2006," Gordon said. "But I think a 15 percent forecast is probably quite a sensible one for '05."
In 2006, the industry is going to experience overcapacity fueled by increased capital spending in the coming quarters, but demand is likely to remain quite robust, Gordon said.
The Semiconductor Industry Association also had good news for the chip industry this week. The organization said Tuesday that global chip sales in April reached $16.94 billion, their highest level since July 2000. |
