Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Technical analysis for shorts & longs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Johnny Canuck who wrote (42803)	11/17/2005 2:32:55 AM
From: Johnny Canuck	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 69951

Global chip sales seen rising in 2006 By Reuters news.com.com Story last modified Wed Nov 16 18:40:00 PST 2005 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 PCs, memory chips in digital music players, and power management circuits for mobile telephones. Major players include Intel, Korea's Samsung Electronics, the biggest maker of memory chips, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, 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's 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.