Global chip sales will surpass $321bn in 2010: SIA

SAN JOSE, USA: The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) released its annual forecast of global semiconductor sales, projecting that worldwide sales will surpass $321 billion in 2010 with a CAGR of 7.7 percent for forecast period of 2007-2010.

The new forecast projects global sales of $257.1 billion in 2007, an increase of 3.8 percent over 2006 sales of $247.7 billion. Going forward, the SIA forecasts sales of $276.9 billion in 2008, a sequential increase of 7.7 percent; $296.2 billion in 2009, a sequential increase of 7.0 percent; and $321.5 billion in 2009, a sequential increase of 8.5 percent.

The SIA noted that consumer demand for electronic products continues to fuel strong demand for microchips. "This year, the worldwide microchip industry will produce 900 million transistors for every man, woman, and child on earth," said SIA president George Scalise.

"The increasing proliferation of semiconductors into an ever-broader range of consumer products coupled with the emergence of large new consumer markets in Asia, Eastern Europe, and South America will be the principal drivers of industry growth for the next several years," said Scalise.

"Consumer purchases continued to drive industry growth in 2007 despite rising energy costs and other concerns," Scalise continued. "Unit sales of personal computers, cell phone handsets, MP3 players, and digital televisions were very robust in 2007."

The SIA noted that sales of personal computers, the largest single market for microchips, are now expected to grow by 11 to 12 percent in 2007. Handset unit shipments are forecasted to grow by 12 percent. MP3 and PMP unit sales are forecasted to grow by 20 percent, and digital TV units by 50 percent.

"All of these products -– personal computers, cell phones, MP3 players, and digital TV sets -– have high silicon content," said Scalise. "Progress in semiconductor technology has been a huge boon to consumers. Today, a typical PC sells for less than 30 percent of the price of a comparable unit in 1995, but today’s model is 100 times more powerful. We can expect to see similar cost and performance improvements in other silicon-intensive consumer products in the years ahead.

"The semiconductor industry continues to be the single most important enabling technology driving world economic growth. Continuous advances in microchip technology have made ‘faster, better, cheaper’ the mantra of our industry. This fundamental value proposition will continue to drive industry sales growth in the years ahead," Scalise concluded.