SAN FRANCISCO—The second half of 2009 will bring welcome relief to the semiconductor and capital equipment industries, according to market research firm IC Insights Inc., which is predicting strong seasonal strength for electronic system sales, worldwide gross domestic product (GDP) growth and continuation of an IC inventory replenishment trend that began in the second quarter.
Compared to a dismal first half, the second half of 2009 will bring 18 percent growth in the worldwide semiconductor market, 43 percent growth in foundry sales and a 28 percent increase in semiconductor capital equipment spending, according to a soon-to-be released mid-year update from IC Insights.
IC Insights (Scottsdale, Ariz.) has been projecting for months that the semiconductor industry would begin to rebound in the second half of this year. In April, Bill McClean, the firm's president, reaffirmed IC Insights' projections of double-digit semiconductor growth in 2010 and 2011 and said the industry would begin to recover in the second half of the year.
In a report issued in May, McClean said the semiconductor market had finally hit bottom and would gain momentum in the second half of the year.
In a research bulletin dated Wednesday (July 1), IC Insights said seasonal strength is likely to propel second half cellphone and PC unit shipments up by 18 percent and 15 percent, respectively, compared to the first half of the year.
"While the velocity of the semiconductor industry recovery is subject to debate (slow, moderate, fast, etc.), at least the discussion over the next few quarters will be about how much sequential growth can be expected in instead of how far the markets are going to fall," McClean wrote in the research bulletin.
