Semiconductor Industry Sales to Drop 16% in 2009

From DailyTech: More doom and gloom is in store for the semiconductor industry as the economy shows no signs of getting better and many analysts predict things are going to get worse yet.

Gartner Inc. released a statement today that shows global semiconductor sales will decline by 16% in 2009 thanks to the economic slowdown, which has led to decreased consumer spending and decrease in orders from manufacturers.

Gartner expects total semiconductor sales to decline to $219.2 billion. Last month, Gartner predicted that the global semiconductor market would decline by 2.2%. Preliminary numbers from the research firm show that 2008 revenue has declines 4.4% compared to the $261.9 billion the global semiconductor market generated in 2007.

Gartner said, "The financial crisis is having an unprecedented negative impact on fourth-quarter 2008 sales and profits, surpassing the 20 percent decline record set in the second quarter of 2001."

The research firm predicts that sales this quarter will plunge 24% compared to the previous period. 2009 could be the first year on industry history that two consecutive years saw revenues decline. Gartner isn’t alone in predicting a bad year for the semiconductor industry in 2009. Bloomberg reports that analyst firm SIA expects sales to drop by 5.6%, the first decline since 2001.

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