Market Research firm Gartner said that worries about excess stock of semiconductors are exaggerated.But that optimism isn’t matched by Infineon, which said that while the market worldwide remains buoyant, the US is a special case and cautioned that growth might not be as strong as it expected.
Gartner predicts that worldwide semiconductor sales will amount to $226 billion, 27% up on last year’s figures. Analyst Richard Gordon said worries about excess stock, prompted by an Intel statement, don’t reflect the general state of sales.
Said Gordon: “The hangover from the severe market downturn endured in 2001 still lingers, just as concerns about the next downturn have begun to worry semiconductor industry executives.” He continued: “The classic signs of an approaching peak in the market — such as increased channel inventory, increased capital spending forecasts, reducing device pricing and lead times — which, in the past would have been treated lightly at this stage in the cycle, are causing executives to be nervous.”
Sales generally continued to rise in 2004 and that suggests that the high stock levels are just a blip.
News source: TheInquirer
