Crikey Moses. The chip market fell 22.5 per cent in Q4, could fall another 20 per cent in Q1, and may be 28 per cent down in 2009, according to Future Horizons at the company's International Forecast Seminar 2009 (IFS2009) in
Future Horizons has the gloomiest forecast of all the sector analysts. Merrill Lynch forecasts 24 per cent decline and Goldman Sachs a mere 15 per cent. ST's CEO Carlo Bozotti says the market could decline 25 per cent.
The thing is no one really has a clue. Texas Instruments says its growth in Q1 will be from minus 5 per cent to minus 30 per cent." That means they don't know what's happening to their business. ST expects its Q1 revenues to be down 40 per cent. Intel declined to make a Q1 forecast.
With visibility zero, the bosses are still making draconian job cuts. Intel up to 6,000, TI 3,400, ST 4,500, Freescale 3,000, ON 1,500 and there are many more.
The semiconductor industry is going to be a different beast coming out of this recession than it was going in.
Hello David
Freshleaf Media also went to the International Forecast Seminar 2009.
Like you, I heard the forecast stats and figures and then walked away with some of Malcolm Penn's suggestions, which I am referring to lately as 'words of wisdom from Malcolm Penn'
* recessions stimulate innovation *
* we must invest more *
Keep well David! :-)
Regards
Fiona