Worldwide semiconductor sales are on pace to hit $338 billion this year, a 7.2 percent increase from 2013 and up from the previous quarter s forecast of 6.7 percent growth, according to research firm Gartner.
Semiconductor revenue set an all-time record in the third quarter of 2014, fueled by a strong electronics build for the holiday season, said Gartner Research Director Jon Erensen in a press release Thursday. Get ready for a flood of new product introductions, ranging from simple low-cost tablets to high-end ultramobiles and smartphones. Demand for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has been robust, but there is concern for other types of devices planned for the holidays.
Gartner expects the chip market to grow 5.8 percent in 2015. It added that the widely used dynamic random access memory — or so-called DRAM — chips will lead all semiconductors in 2014, with sales surging 26.3 percent to an all-time annual record of $44.1 billion.
But Gartner predicted the DRAM market will become oversupplied in 2016, causing sales of that chip to tumble 25.5 percent and weakening overall 2016 semiconductor growth to just 1 percent.
