Credit Crunch: Semiconductor gloom amid economic gloom

See also: Credit Crunch: Semiconductor light amid economic gloom

Recently we highlighted a series of stories that indicate points of light for the semiconductor industry, amid the wider gloom of a global downturn. Here is a companion article that confronts the bad news emerging as economic conditions tighten.

First we detail how people have been directly hit by the job losses suffered, and then list analysis pieces on the wider state of the semiconductor market and the wider health of the electronics industry.

Job losses within global electronics industry

Total of employees let go: 103,725

Analysis

Looking beyond the headline figures of job losses, here are recent articles considering market and industry difficulties

EDA revenues show unprecedented global decline
The Electronic Design Automation Consortium (EDAC) has reported that industry revenues for the fourth quarter of 2008 declined by almost 18% compared to the like quarter of 2007, to a global total of $1318.7 million.

Automotive electronics plant in West Midlands to close
Omron has started a cost-cutting programme which will include the closure of its automotive electronics production facility in the UK.

Wafer area shipments show first decline in years - SEMI
Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments and revenue each declined by 6% in 2008 as compared to 2007 results, according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG).

Semiconductor foundry sales expected to fall
Showing how rapidly the semiconductor industry can pull back its foundry orders, TSMC, the world's No.1 foundry, is expected to forecast a 35 to 45 per cent drop in sales for the current quarter.

Distribution market to fall 10% in next six months, says Afdec
The component distribution market is experiencing a significant business slowdown which is likely to carry on for most of next year, according to UK-based distribution industry association Afdec.

Bookings and billings at 2003 levels - SEMI
SEMI has released its Oct book-to-bill ratio, showing a month-on-month gain amid the industry downturn, but also showing continuing year-on-year declines.

Gartner warns 2009 equipment sales could hit 2003 lows
Gartner has lowered its capital and equipment spending forecast for the second time in as many months, warning that the next year could see a capital spending decline of about 17% and capital equipment revenue decline of 18%.

European chip market feels pain of financial crisis - DMASS
The global financial crisis is now being felt in the European semiconductor market. Sales of semiconductors through distribution channels dropped by 8.2% in the third quarter, according to DMASS, representative group of distributors and manufacturers.

iPhone rings results for Apple, but Jobs warns of uncertain future
Despite defying gloomy market conditions to post healthy fiscal fourth quarter results Apple cut forecasts for the remainder of the year, joining a growing band of industry giants to sound a cautionary note on the short term outlook for sales.

Semi equipment demand down until 2010 - Gartner
As the global economic slowdown continues to have a significant impact on the semiconductor industry, capital spending is still slowing across the board, with all segments seeing a decline in capital spending in 2008 and through 2009, according to market researchers at Gartner Dataquest.<

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