Worldwide semiconductor revenues are forecast to reach US$290 billion in 2010, a 27.1% rise from 2009 when revenues were US$228 billion, according to report.
The outlook for the chip industry has improved from Gartner's first-quarter 2010 forecast, when it projected worldwide semiconductor sales to grow 19.9%. Analysts said this improvement in market conditions is in part due to an accelerated broad-based recovery in all regions and most product categories.
"Sequential semiconductor growth has been very strong over the last five quarters, well above seasonal norms, and manufacturing capacity is tight" said Bryan Lewis, research VP at Gartner. "Chip revenue growth is clearly outpacing system revenue growth and that is a concern. Gartner's new semiconductor forecast has below-average growth in the second half of 2010 as we are anticipating a minor correction to realign semiconductor sales with electronic system sales. Even with this minor correction, we are still expecting very strong growth and record semiconductor sales in 2010."
In this quarter's update, Gartner raised production forecasts for PCs, mobile phones, automotive and select consumer products. The PC and mobile phone markets will account for about 40% of the semiconductor market's growth in 2010. In the PC market, processor ASPs are firming, and 2010 PC processor revenues are now expected to grow 15.5%, up from 10% in the previous update.
Strong PC growth coupled with rising DRAM prices is causing the 2010 DRAM market to surge 78%, making it the strongest-performing semiconductor device market, according to Gartner. Analysts believe that the demand for media tablets, such as Apple's iPad, will noticeably impact the PC market by 2013, further fueling growth in this category. However, in the near-term, these devices will have a minimal impact on PC and smartphone markets.
Gartner analysts expect the semiconductor industry to show continued growth through its forecast period in 2014. The market is on track to surpass the US$300 billion mark in 2011, according to Gartner.