Semiconductor industry continues to suffer

ANALYSTS working for Gartner have worked out that the semiconductor industry will post a revenue decline for just the sixth time in the last 25 years.

After adding up all the figures and dividing by their average IQ, the outfit has calculated that the semiconductor industry made $226 billion in 2009. This was an 11.4 per cent decline from 2008.

According to its annual report, Gartner said revenues dropped down the loo in the first quarter quarter of 2009, continuing a deterioration that started in the last quarter of 2008. However the problems did not last. There was a a small up-tick noted toward the end of the first quarter, which led to significant quarter-over-quarter growth in the periods that followed.

But in 50 years, when you are sitting on your porch, you will always refer to 2009 as one of the worst years for the semiconductor industry since the burst of the dot-com bubble in 2001. Your great grandchildren will say that Gramps survived 2009 and will wonder how you managed it.

Gartner thinks that with the market emerging from recession, semiconductor vendors need to track end users' spending patterns through 2010 to detect any disruptions in demand or additional demand that threatens to outstrip capacity.

Intel held the number one position for the 18th consecutive year, despite revenue declines, and it increased its overall market share to 14.2 per cent in 2009. µ