Global semiconductor revenue to touch $290 bn in 2010: Gartner

Worldwide semiconductor revenue is forecast to touch $290 billion this year, a 27.1 per cent increase from $228 billion in 2009, research firm Gartner today said.

Semiconductor chips are used in making electronic items like mobile phones and laptops, to name a few.

In its latest outlook, Gartner has revised its first quarter 2010 forecast, when it projected global semiconductor sales to grow 19.9 per cent, based on an accelerated broad-based recovery in all regions and most product categories.

It added that the market is on track to surpass the $300 billion mark in 2011.

"Sequential semiconductor growth has been very strong over the last five quarters, well above seasonal norms, and manufacturing capacity is tight," Gartner research vice president Bryan Lewis said.

According to the forecast, the PC and mobile phone markets will account for about 40 per cent of the semiconductor market's growth in 2010.

In the PC market, processor average selling prices (ASPs) are firming, and 2010 PC processor revenue is now expected to grow 15.5 per cent, up from 10 per cent in the first quarter update.

"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," he added.

"Even with this minor correction, we are still expecting very strong growth and record semiconductor sales in 2010," Lewis said.

Gartner said the demand for media tablets, such as Apple's iPad, will noticeably impact the PC market by 2013, further fuelling growth in this category.

However, in the near-term, these devices will have a minimal impact on PC and smartphone markets, it added.