Global power semiconductor market growth cut to 5 percent in 2012

WELLINGBOROUGH, ENGLAND: The global power semiconductor market will grow by just 5 percent in 2012 to $32 billion, according to IMS Research due to global economic uncertainties and inventory being flushed from the supply chain. The market, which grew by 37 percent in 2010 is however forecast to return to double-digit growth in 2013.

Latest findings from IMS Research’s Power Management Quarterly Market Watch revealed that the power semiconductor market, including power discretes, power modules and power ICs, grew by just 3.7 percent in 2011, following its strong recovery in 2010. Inventory corrections and major economic uncertainties surrounding the Euro-zone crisis resulted in declines in Q3’11 and Q4’11.

Ash Sharma, senior research director, said: “The effects of the economic uncertainty and reduced spending by consumers and businesses on the power semiconductor market are predicted to continue long in 2012 and industry revenues in 1H’12 will be flat year-on-year. However, the outlook varies considerably for each product and sector and some areas of the power component market will still enjoy double-digit growth.”

Power IC market growth was almost 3 percent lower than power discrete growth in 2011, though this trend is set to be reversed in 2012, with slightly higher growth predicted for power ICs. The power module market continued to outperform both power discretes and power ICs, showing sustained high double-digit growth in 2011, which is projected to remain in for the next four years, driven by demand for IGBT modules.

Ryan Sanderson, senior analyst and report co-author, added: “Strong demand for smart phones is projected to continue throughout 2012, despite a slowdown in 4Q’11, driving the market for power ICs, in particular battery management ICs. Smart phone charger demand is also forecast to help drive growth of the AC-DC regulator market, switching controllers and MOSFETs. Automotive demand remained strong throughout 2011 and the increasing content of electronics within vehicles is projected to drive growth in all power semiconductor markets.”