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![TMCNet: Chip industry outlook gets bleaker, according to IHS researchers [The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.]](http://images.tmcnet.com/siteart/invisible.gif)
Chip industry outlook gets bleaker, according to IHS researchers [The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.]
(Oregonian (Portland, OR) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Dec. 03--Near-term prospects for the chip industry, already weak, are looking worse, according to a report out this morning from industry analysts at IHS.
IHS now says the chip industry is due to decline by 2.3 percent this year, to $303 billion in annual sales. Last September, IHS had forecast a 1.7 percent annual decline (earlier, it had expected 2012 would be flat for the semiconductor industry.)
"Five out of the six major application markets for semiconductors--including the key computer segment--are expected to contract in 2012, pulling down the overall performance of the chip market," IHS electronics and semiconductor director Dale Ford wrote this morning. "An extremely weak global economy resulted in poor demand for electronics. As a result, the semiconductor industry slipped from stagnation in the first half of 2012 to a slump in the second half."
The industry is poised for "mild recovery" in the fourth quarter, according to Ford, and a strong, 8.2 percent rebound next year -- provided the global economy holds up.
IHS said the only chip market that will grow this year is wireless semiconductors.
Data processing -- the largest market for chips -- will fall by nearly 8 percent this year, according to IHS. That's a market dominated by Intel-based PCs.
Intel, which employs more Oregonians than any other business, currently predicts a 2 percent decline in fourth-quarter sales and a 1 percent decline for all of 2012.
Some investment analysts have begun lowering their own Intel forecasts, suggesting the company may miss its targets.
-- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway
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(c)2012 The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.)
Visit The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) at www.oregonian.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
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