The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) has stood up this week and said that everything is back to normal, recession over, pointing out that during 2009 sales only fell 9% from the previous year, way less than had been feared.
‘In 2010, unit sales of personal computers and cell phones ‘ which account for approximately 60% of total semiconductor consumption ‘ will grow in the low-to-mid teens, providing a solid platform for chip sales. Consumer electronics are expected to grow in the mid-single digits,’ said SIA President George Scalise.
Global chip sales for 2009 were $226 billion down from $249 billion a year earlier after the SIA had gloomily forecast $220 billion. But the turning point came in December when sales (as a three-month moving average) jumped 29% over 2008 to $22.4 billion. They were only up 3.7% in November.
‘2009 turned out to be a better year for the global semiconductor industry than expected,’ said SIA President George Scalise. ‘A strong focus on inventories throughout the supply chain mitigated the impact of the worldwide economic downturn and positioned the industry for growth as the global economy recovers.
We have to say that given the total collapse of pricing some devices like digital TVs and in things like Flash Memory that means that some other components did extremely well.
‘We are also seeing the effects of recovery in the enterprise sector and we believe this trend will continue,’ Scalise noted. SIA expects a return to normal seasonal patterns, which suggests a modest slowdown in the first quarter.
China and India, two key emerging markets, have also been driving demand as their populations all rush to get mobile phones and their governments and major corporations invest in wired and wireless infrastructure.
‘With improving consumer confidence and signs of economic recovery around the world, the semiconductor industry is well positioned for growth in 2010,’ Scalise concluded.