SIA lifts 2006 chip-sales outlook
Consumer electronics seen powering 9.8% growth
By MarketWatch
Last Update: 7:13 AM ET Jun 7, 2006
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Stronger-than-expected semiconductor demand for cellular phones and other consumer electronics prompted the Semiconductor Industry Association to boost its projection of chip sales in 2006 to growth of 9.8% from a previous forecast of 7.9%.
The trade group now sees sales of $249.6 billion this year, compared with the previous forecast, issued in November 2005, of $245 billion.
Industry sales for 2005 totaled $227.5 billion.
Projections for 2007 through 2009 also are more optimistic, the San Jose, Calif.-based SIA said, putting the growth rates for the three years at 11%, 12% and 4%, respectively.
If the figures prove out, 2009 sales would come to $323 billion, and the average annual growth rate from 2005 through 2009 would be 9.2%.
About 1 billion cellular handsets will be sold worldwide in 2006, SIA President George Scalise said in a statement.
"With an average semiconductor content of $41 per unit, this segment is now second only to personal computers in terms of total chip consumption," he said.
Also driving chip sales, Scalise said, are digital cameras, digital television, and MP3 players.
Sales of flash memory, used in these products and others, are projected to grow 20% to $22.3 billion in 2006. They'll reach $31.1 billion in 2009, translating into a compound annual growth rate of 13.7%, the SIA said.
Stocks of major memory-products producers were mixed on Tuesday. |
