Growth Seen For Global Semiconductor Market

By Agence France-Presse Global semiconductor sales will likely rise 27.4% for 2004 to a total of $226 billion, the research firm Gartner Inc. said Aug. 24. The Gartner forecast was stronger than one earlier this month from the Semiconductor Industry Association, which projected sales of $214 billion for 2004. Gartner said it sees sales growing faster than anticipated by most companies, which remain cautious in the wake of the difficult market since 2001. "Despite the improving market conditions that semiconductor vendors have enjoyed over the past several quarters and the expectation that revenue growth this year will be close to 30%, this industry up-cycle is notable in that few in the industry have felt able to acknowledge it as a boom," says Richard Gordon, research vice president for Gartner. "The hangover from the severe market downturn endured in 2001 still lingers, just as concerns about the next downturn have begun to worry semiconductor industry executives." Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2004