Semiconductor Industry Rises to Meet Demand

Outlook for Semiconductor Industry Jobs Brighter

IC Resources is the number1 brand when it comes to finding semiconductor jobs in the UK, US, Asia Pacific and worldwide. A second quarter growth in worldwide semiconductor sales and a positive forecast for the next two years comes as welcome news for the semiconductor industry.

The semiconductor industry could be on the rise again as demand climbs, according to Market Research Company IHS iSuppli. This is good news for jobs in the semiconductor industry after it suffered a decline in demand for the past couple of years.

It had been predicted that semiconductor inventories worldwide were expected to decline in the first quarter of 2012, but that there could be possible growth in demand. It seems that the IHS analysts called it right as second quarter figures look positive. IHS contends that this upward trend will continue for the rest of the year, with worldwide inventories growing to meet customer demand.

According to figures released by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), global semiconductor sales were $24.1bn in April, showing a rise of 3.4% over the previous month. This represents the biggest monthly rise since 2010. Figures are still 2.9% down from the same time last year which stood at $24.8bn; and show a 5.9% decrease in year to date figures from 2011: $93.7bn this year compared to $99.5bn in April 2011.

That aside, the prediction is for a tentative yet steady upward growth to continue for the rest of this year and become even stronger over the next two years. Brian Toohey, president & CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association, said, “The outlook for the global semiconductor industry continues to be one of cautious optimism… But that optimism continues to be tempered by macroeconomic factors."

World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) forecast that worldwide semiconductor sales will reach $301bn by the end of this year, a rise of 0.4% over 2011. The figures also suggest that the rise will pick up pace in 2013 rising by 7.2% in global sales, to around $322bn; in 2014 another rise is predicted of 4.4% to $337bn.

It should be noted though, these forecasts are not set in stone; the global economy is in a delicate state and it wouldn’t take much to put a dent in consumer enthusiasm, causing purse strings to tighten and demand to fall. Whenever there is a spike in customer demand and the semiconductor industry, or any manufacturer for that matter, steps up production to meet it, it is not so simple to reduce that level of production when the demand dips. This very often leads to stockpiling of unwanted goods.

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