iSuppli issues fast facts on SIA’s global sales report

EL SEGUNDO, USA: To support media coverage of the Global Sales Report for January of the US Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), iSuppli Corp. is issuing the following fast facts on the worldwide chip market:

* The SIA reported that worldwide semiconductor sales rose slightly in January 2010 compared to December 2009.

* Global semiconductor revenue in the first quarter will amount to $66.5 billion, down 4.4 percent from $69.6 billion in the fourth quarter, iSuppli predicts.

* However, revenue will show impressive growth compared to the first quarter of 2009, when the global semiconductor industry suffered a severe downturn. Global chip revenue in the first quarter will surge a whopping 48.5 percent compared to $44.8 billion during the same period in 2009. The figure presents iSuppli’s forecast of global quarterly semiconductor revenue in 2010.Source: iSuppli, USA

* "The 48.5 percent year-over-year growth in the first quarter will lay the foundation for a robust rebound in the global semiconductor business in 2010,” said Dale Ford, senior vice president at iSuppli. “iSuppli predicts global semiconductor revenue in 2010 will rise to $279.7 billion, up 21.5 percent from $230.2 billion in 2009. This will mark the first year of double-digit percentage revenue growth for the semiconductor industry since 2006. Following the 11.1 percent decline in revenue in 2009, the strong growth in 2010 represents a major improvement in market conditions for the global semiconductor industry. Semiconductor revenue growth this year will swing by 32.6 percentage points in the positive direction, from negative 11.1 percent in 2009 to positive 21.5 percent in 2010.”

* In terms of semiconductor products, the strongest chip segment in the first quarter of 2010 will be memory, a category including DRAM and NAND flash, which will experience a 99.3 percent increase in revenue compared to the same period in 2009.

* DRAM’s strong revenue growth in 2010 is due to the suppliers’ deft management of manufacturing capacity, which will keep inventories in check and prevent prices from eroding too precipitously.

* On the NAND flash memory side, strong sales growth of smart phones is expected to generate insatiable demand for NAND-type flash memory in 2010. This will contribute to strained supplies for the year and help to boost pricing.

* Wireless communications, an area dominated by cell phones, is expected to generate major growth in semiconductor consumption in the first quarter of 2010. Semiconductor sales to the wireless communications market will amount to $13.1 billion in the first quarter, up a strong 53 percent from $8.6 billion in the first quarter of 2009.

Source: iSuppli, USA