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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kirk © who wrote (16575)	11/16/2005 10:27:19 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 25522

Microchip sales seen rising 7.9 pct in 2006 Wed Nov 16, 2005 09:44 AM ET WASHINGTON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Worldwide sales of semiconductors are expected to rise 7.9 percent to $245.5 billion in 2006, the U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association said in its annual forecast on Wednesday. Sales of semiconductors are seen rising to $271.3 billion in 2007, it said. Hundreds of companies compete for a slice of the industry that makes products such as the microprocessors found at the heart of personal computers, memory chips in digital music players, and power management circuits for mobile telephones. Major players include No. 1 chipmaker Intel Corp. (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) , Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) , the biggest maker of memory chips, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (2330.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) , the world's largest contract chipmaker. The SIA forecast is closely watched by companies and industry analysts, but the sector's infamous volatility has made it tough to accurately predict. Last year's report forecast chip sales this year would be flat with 2004, when sales jumped 28 percent to $213 billion. But demand for a broad range of consumer devices has been unexpectedly robust this year, and the SIA now sees 2005 growth of 6.8 percent to $227.6 billion. However, the slowing pace of growth has triggered debate as to whether the industry that gave birth to Silicon Valley is maturing. Much of the boom-bust cycle has been driven by memory chips, traditionally found in computers but increasingly in consumer gadgets such as Apple Computer Inc.'s (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) popular iPod music player. The SIA said sales of flash memory -- the type found in smaller iPods and digital cameras -- would grow 15.9 percent to $21 billion in 2006, after growing an expected 16 percent this year. Sales of computer memory, known as dynamic random access memory, should fall 10 percent next year to $23 billion, a drop the SIA called a "mild cyclical decline." Earlier this week, a Japanese industry group said global sales of the equipment used to make chips fell in September for the eighth straight month, although a shrinking rate of decline suggested demand was on a recovery path.