
Preliminary figures from market research firm, Gartner suggest that the semiconductor industry will have grown 31.5% in 2010, reached a landmark revenue figure of US$300.3 billion. The figures are remarkable simply from the perspective that the industry declined 10% in 2009, due to the global economic recession. The semiconductor industry has only experienced three other years (1988, 1995 and 2000) when revenue growth had been more than 30% in any one year.
According to Gartner, overall semiconductor industry revenue grew US$71.9 billion in 2010 — the largest single dollar increase for the semiconductor industry in any one year.
"In 2010, the semiconductor market was driven by pent-up demand as system makers scrambled against depleted inventories to obtain parts," said Stephan Ohr, semiconductor research director at Gartner. "Manufacturers — both integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) and foundries — scrambled to put new capacity in place. With slowing demand and a weakening consumer confidence in the third quarter, lead times are coming down and inventories are slowly starting to build. Still, semiconductor vendors are working on fulfilling backlog orders, and 2010 will go on record as a banner year for the semiconductor industry."