Chip Market Poised for ‘Rebound’ in 2012

Computerworld: Market research firm Gartner has released a new forecast which predicts that worldwide semiconductor revenue will top $316 billion in 2012, a 4 percent increase over 2011. Those predictions are an improvement over the firm’s last estimates for 2012, which anticipated only a 2.2 percent increase. “The semiconductor industry is poised for a rebound starting in the second quarter of 2012,” said Gartner’s Bryan Lewis. “The inventory correction is expected to conclude this quarter, foundry utilization rates are bottoming, and the economic outlook is stabilizing.”

The increased demand for chips will result from an expected 4.7 percent growth rate for the PC market, 6.7 percent growth for mobile phones and 78 percent growth in tablets.