Factories that make semiconductors promise to be busy from now through 2009. The San Jose, Calif.-based Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) is projecting global sales of $321 billion worth of microchips in 2009, with a compound average growth of 9% for the four-year period.
SIA foresees worldwide semiconductor sales reaching $248.8 billion in 2006, a 9.4% increase from sales of $227.5 billion in 2005. Sales in 2007 are projected to be $273.8 billion, up 10% from 2006; $303.4 billion in 2008, up 10.8% from 2007; and $321 billion in 2009, up 5.8% from 2008.
The leading driver of semiconductor demand is the consumer, specifically purchasers of electronic products ranging from cell phones to digital cameras and MP3 players, says George Scalise, SIA's president. "When consumer purchases of automobiles, personal computers and other electronic products are taken into consideration, consumers account for more than half of all semiconductor consumption," he states.
Here are SIA's sales projections, by major pro-duct category and compound annual growth rate:
| DRAMs | 14.6% |
| Digital signal processors | 12.7% |
| Analog devices | 11.1% |
| Optoelectronic devices | 10.4% |
| Flash memory | 8.4% |
| MOS logic devices | 8.1% |
| Discrete products (includes power and RF transistors) | 6.9% |
| Microcontrollers | 6.1% |
| Microprocessors | 4.7% |
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