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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: StanX Long who wrote (60184)	2/8/2002 3:30:22 AM
From: StanX Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Japan expects rough year, with second-half recovery By Yoshiko Hara EE Times (02/07/02 17:20 p.m. EST) siliconstrategies.com TOKYO — The Japanese electronics industry is looking at another tough year, with no appreciable growth expected until the second half. The Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) this week predicted scant 0.7 percent growth in 2002, while the Committee of Silicon, a wafer manufacturers' association, expects 7 percent growth for that sector, bolstered by a strong 30 percent rise in the second half. "Total domestic production dropped by more than 15 percent last year," said JEITA chairman Yoichi Morishita, the chairman of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. In 2002, he said, "The first half will stay in the same severe situation [as last year]," followed by "an indication of a solid recovery in the second half." But that won't be enough to raise the annual growth rate above flat, to about $166 billion by JEITA's estimate. Morishita pointed to "some bright spots [that] have started appearing in semiconductors, components, cellular phones and digital consumer products," but said they will not be enough to produce more than spotty growth this year. JEITA divides the industry into consumer; industrial products, including personal computers; and components and devices. Of the three, the components category, which includes semiconductors, is foreseen as growing 2.1 percent in 2002 production, owing to recovery in some sectors such as discrete components, connectors and LCDs.