U.S.-China trade war continues

U.S.-China trade war continues
by Bill Jewell on 11-22-2019 at 6:00 am

Electronics production

The trade dispute between the U.S. and China continues to drag on. According to Reuters, U.S. President Donald Trump recently threatened to raise tariffs further on Chinese imports if no deal is reached. Tariffs affecting most consumer electronics imports from China are scheduled to go into effect on December 15, according to… Read More


Semiconductors back to growth in 2020

Semiconductors back to growth in 2020
by Bill Jewell on 09-24-2019 at 11:30 am

Semiconductor market forecasts 2019 to 2021

The global semiconductor market is headed for the largest decline in 18 years. The market dropped 32% in 2001 when the Internet bubble burst. The 2019 decline should be around 15%, the third largest annual drop after 2001 and a 17% drop in 1985. The current weakness is largely due to excess memory capacity (DRAM and NAND flash) relative… Read More


Double-digit semiconductor decline in 2019

Double-digit semiconductor decline in 2019
by Bill Jewell on 06-27-2019 at 4:00 pm

The global semiconductor market is headed for a double-digit decline for the year 2019 after a decline of 15.6% in first quarter 2019 from fourth quarter 2018. According to WSTS (World Semiconductor Trade Statistics) data, this was the largest quarter-to-quarter decline since a 16.3% decline in first quarter 2009, ten years … Read More


Slowing growth in 2019 for GDP and semiconductors

Slowing growth in 2019 for GDP and semiconductors
by Bill Jewell on 12-24-2018 at 7:00 am

Growth in the global economy is expected to slow in 2019 from 2018. Ten economic forecasts released in the last two months show the percentage point change in World GDP from 2018 to 2019 ranging from minus 0.1 points to minus 0.4 points.

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Semiconductors could be up 12% in 2018

Semiconductors could be up 12% in 2018
by Bill Jewell on 03-02-2018 at 12:00 pm

The global semiconductor market grew 21.6% for the year 2017, according to World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS). The market was much stronger than anticipated at the beginning of year. Semiconductor Intelligence tracked publicly available forecasts to determine which was the most accurate. We used forecasts made … Read More


Electronics Production Rising in 2017

Electronics Production Rising in 2017
by Bill Jewell on 11-20-2017 at 12:00 pm

Production of electronic equipment is continuing healthy growth. China, the world’s largest producer of electronics, had a three-month-average increase of 14% in October 2017 versus a year ago. Year-to-date through October, China’s electronic production has gained 13.8% compared to 10.0% for the year 2016, putting China… Read More


Capex Driving Overcapacity?

Capex Driving Overcapacity?
by Bill Jewell on 10-29-2017 at 12:00 pm

Semiconductor capital expenditures (cap ex) in 2017 will increase significantly from 2016. In August, Gartner forecast 2017 cap ex growth of 10.2% and IC Insights projected 20.2% growth. SEMI expects spending on semiconductor fabrication equipment will increase 37%. Cap ex growth is primarily driven by increased capacity… Read More


China to become largest semiconductor producer

China to become largest semiconductor producer
by Bill Jewell on 03-24-2017 at 12:00 pm

China has long been the largest market for semiconductors, accounting for over 50% of the global market for the last five years. China is now on track to become the largest semiconductor manufacturer in the next few years. The chart below shows China’s integrated circuit (IC) industry from 2010 to 2016, according to the China Semiconductor… Read More


Shakeup in Analog Rankings

Shakeup in Analog Rankings
by Bill Jewell on 09-20-2016 at 4:00 pm

Last week Renesas Electronics announced an agreement to acquire Intersil Corporation for US$3.22 billion. This follows July’s announcement that Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) will acquire Linear Technology Corp. (LTC) for $14.8 billion. These deals will cause a shakeup in the analog IC market. According to IC Insights ranking … Read More


Semiconductor market going negative?

Semiconductor market going negative?
by Bill Jewell on 06-09-2016 at 7:00 am

Several recent forecasts for the 2016 semiconductor market point to a decline. The title of this post is the same as we used for in October 2015. In October, Semiconductor Intelligence projected the market would grow 1.0% in 2015 despite several predictions of the market going negative. 2015 finished with a slight 0.2% decline.… Read More