Global chip sales growth sputters
604240
(InfoWorld) - The global chip market is suffering from falling prices in microprocessors and memory chips, bad news for companies but great for users. Steep declines in DRAM (dynamic RAM) for PCs and NAND flash memory, used in a variety of gadgets including digital cameras and iPods, as well as microprocessors prompted the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) to slash its global sales forecast for this year to US$252 billion, just 1.8 percent growth compared to last year. The previous estimate called for sales growth of 10 percent this year. Sales of gadgets themselves are on track to meet forecasts, however, SIA said. Chip shipments overall remain healthy, as does end-user demand. But prices continue to fall for a variety of reasons, including a glut in the memory market and a price war between Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. in microprocessors. "End markets continue to be strong, with consumers realizing major benefits from lower chip prices coupled with ever-increasing performance and functionality from advances in chip technology. Despite a forecast of slower growth, we expect that global sales of microchips will surpass last yearâs record level," the SIA said in a statement on Wednesday. Intel and AMD have been battling each other through price reductions for over a year now, and reports indicate that Intel will cut prices on some microprocessors again in late July. The price war has been good to consumers, delivering more technically advanced microprocessors at a lower cost. Microprocessors are generally the most expensive chip inside a PC. The DRAM market has been hit the worst. The price of mainstream 512M-bit second-generation double data rate (DDR2) DRAM that runs at 667MHz has plunged 72 percent so far this year to US$1.79 per chip, according to DRAMeXchange Technology Inc., a Taiwanese clearinghouse for the chips. The market research division of the company has noted that the chips appear to be bottoming out, and that prices could tick up a bit later this month. DRAM price reductions for users normally come a few weeks or a month after the spot DRAM market falls. NAND Flash memory has suffered a similar fate as DRAM, but not quite as steep a decline. A glut of the chips early in the year has been wiped out by memory makers, which tweaked production lines to make more DRAM instead of NAND flash. Prices of 8G byte NAND has fallen 18 percent his year to US$9.26, according to DRAMeXchange, while the 4G byte capacity has dropped nearly 15 percent to US$5.69. The SIA expects PC and mobile phone sales to rise 10 percent each this year. Mobile phone sales may give chips a bigger boost, however, because users are buying more 3G (third generation communications) handsets, which contain more chips than older phones. Sales of personal media players and digital music players are expected to grow by more than 20 percent this year, SIA said, but noted that price competition in the market will likely keep NAND flash chip prices tame. The SIA report followsÂ a similar estimation of the global chip industry by Gartner. A few weeks ago, the market researcher lowered its forecast to just 2.5 percent growth to US$269.2 billion this year, down from an earlier estimate of 6.4 percent. Â ADVERTISEMENTIBM Information On Demand 2006Industrial Industry Leaders, please join us at IBM's premier information management global event, IBM Information On Demand 2006, October 15-20, Anaheim, CA. More IBM business and technical solutions content in one place than ever before! Select from  over 800 sessions. Register today!
406555
Worldwide semiconductor sales rose 2.2  percent to $20.6 billion in July, an industry group said on  Tuesday, helped by rising demand for consumer electronics.
611264
Chipmakers are again investing heavily to avoid the mistakes of the 1990s. But can they compete with overseas rivals and avoid a glut?
563288
Growth in chip sales is set to halve next year due to a glut in the market, Korean chipmaker Samsung has warned. The firm said memory chips were in for a slowdown, with prices for flash memory set to fall as much as 40% in the three months to September.
693700
Worldwide semiconductor sales will hit an all-time high in 2004 but stay relatively flat in 2005 before climbing again over the next two years, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.
163438
Strong holiday sales of computer and cell phone chips boosted Intel Corp.'s fourth-quarter sales to a record &#36;9.6 billion, but the world's largest chip maker saw profits slip 2 percent from the same period last year.
463264
(InfoWorld) - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd., the world's largest contract chip maker, reported its worst monthly revenue in 20 months on Friday, but analysts applauded the figure as further proof that an industry glut is dissipating. TSMC said its revenue in February hit NT$20.58 billion (US$624.2 million), down 14.3 percent compared to last year and its worst monthly revenue figure since it reported revenue of NT$20.11 billion in June, 2005. Despite the poor showing, analysts said it was a strong figure considering February is a shorter work month, at only 28 days, and that a major holiday, the Lunar New Year, celebrated throughout Taiwan and much of Asia, also slowed work at TSMC factories. Last year, the Lunar New Year, which is usually a week-long holiday in Taiwan, was on Jan. 29. This year, the first day of the Year of the Pig fell on Feb. 18. "I think the February sales figure was fantastic. It was only down about 2 percent from January," said Warren Lau, chip industry analyst at Macquarie Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong. He said TSMC's February revenue was further proof that a chip glut that has hampered the industry for the past several months is nearing an end. But the return to health over the next few months could be specific to TSMC, and not include the wider chip industry. Earlier this week, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) said it will miss its revenue goal for the first quarter of 2007, while rival Intel Corp. outlined plans to beat a microprocessor glut and weak corporate demand for PCs by stepping up chip development speeds. The two companies engaged in a price war last year, and continue to suffer as they duke it out in the market, analysts say. Gartner Inc. believes the chip industry won't start to recover from the glut until the second half of this year. Rising inventories in late 2006 caused companies to slow production and ease off on buying new machinery as a drop in orders idled more and more production lines, said David Christensen, a Gartner analyst, in a recent report. "Look for this trend to continue through the first half of 2007, followed by a slow recovery in the second half of the year," he wrote. Last month, the market researcher revised down its revenue growth estimate for the chip industry this year to 6.4 percent, from a previous forecast of 9.2 percent. Gartner estimates chip industry revenue will reach US$259.7 billion this year. Â
546118
THE global semiconductor business slumped during the second half of the year - although overall 2004 brought a 23% increase in revenue in the industry amounting to $218bn (Â£112bn), according to analysts at researchers Gartner Dataquest yesterday.
148888
But late rush still needed to make full year forecast The chip industry is banking on a late surge in demand to meet its full year sales forecast, despite the publicâs insatiable thirst for silicon-heavy kit in November.â¦
276806
MAKUHARI, Japan  - Global sales of equipment used  to make and test semiconductors are expected to fall 5.15  percent from a year earlier to $33.49 billion in 2005, an  industry group said on Wednesday.
571806
Texas Instruments Inc , the world's top mobile phone chip maker, said on Thursday it expects global sales for analog chips to double over the next seven years, fuelled by growing demand for consumer electronics.
478359
Worldwide semiconductor sales totaled $18.8 billion in October, up 1.5% from September and 22% from a year ago, the Semiconductor Industry Association said.
214131
Semiconductor sales worldwide surged to a monthly record of $20.5 billion in August, fueled by higher demand for memory chips used in PCs and mobile gadgets such as cellphones and digital cameras, an industry group reported yesterday.
571472
Four years later, chip maker still struggles to compete with AMD and Intel.
614017
NEW YORK, September 30  - Global semiconductor sales increased to $18.2 billion in August this year, representing 34.
553663
Worldwide semiconductor sales rose a scant 1.5 percent in October, to $18.8 billion from $18.5 billion in September, as many chip users pared inventories.
467081
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said worldwide sales of semiconductors rose to $18.2 billion in August, exceeding expectations of $18 billion (see Tuesday, Sept.