Firm slashes IC-equipment forecast
(I believe what's he trying to say is that a weak US $ would buy more bang for the same buck;
down 2.4 percent over 2007 - that's actually pretty good)
"garbage in - garbage out" - we used to say
Mark LaPedus
EE Times
(03/04/2008 3:51 PM EST)
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Look out below! The Information Network has slashed its wafer-processing equipment forecast by a wide margin.
The research firm originally predicted that the market will reach $30.71 billion in 2008, down 2.4 percent over 2007.
''For 2008 we see continued erosion in the dollar and a weak, recessionary economy in the U.S. We have reduced our forecast to a 14.5 percent decrease in the wafer processing equipment market,'' said. Robert Castellano, president of The Information Network, in a statement.
The wafer-processing--or front-end equipment--market gained $2.39 billion or 8.3 percent because of the weak dollar in 2007, according to the New Tripoli, Penn.-based market research company.
Last year, the Japanese yen appreciated 6.5 percent against the U.S. dollar and the Euro gained 11.2 percent in 2007. Global sales by Japanese and European companies represented 38 percent and 12.5 percent of equipment sales, respectively, in 2007
There were several large foreign companies that contributed to the inflated 2007 growth. Tokyo Electron Ltd., for example, grew 22 percent in its national currency (Yen) but 28.5 percent in dollars, according to the firm. Likewise, ASML Holding NV grew 5 percent in euro denominations but 16 percent in dollars, it added. |
