Robust demand for advanced processors used in networking and data center computers, new 5G smartphones, and ICs used in other high-growth electronics market applications such as robotics, self-driving vehicles and driver-assist automation, artificial intelligence, machine-learning and image recognition systems is forecast to lift total foundry sales to $107.2 billion in 2021, a 23 percent increase…
Sales of DRAM—the most commoditized of electronic components – grew 26 percent in Q2 2021 to $24.1 billion and propelled Samsung to the world’s leading chip supplier for the same period. But DRAM is also known for frequent boom-to-bust cycles and supplies are looking tight into next year. All of which is good for fabless…
Driven by surging demand and rising prices for DRAM and flash memory, Samsung, the world’s largest memory supplier, saw its total semiconductor sales increase 19 percent in 2Q21 to $20.3 billion, moving it past Intel and into first place to become the world’s largest semiconductor supplier for 2Q21, IC Insights reported. Samsung was previously ranked…
The snowstorms in Texas have led to a 133-car pileup, nearly a half-million without power, and millions in the state under boil-water notices. The storms’ impact on semiconductor fabrication plants in the Lone Star state has also received attention. “The storm-related power outages in Texas could have a mind-blowing impact on fabs and, in turn,…
A perfect storm of events have converged to create the semiconductor shortage of 2021. High-level collaboration across the electronics supply chain could make the deficit less painful, experts say. Shortages often prompt less-than-optimum purchasing behaviors. Competitive bidding for inventory drives prices up. Exceptions to approved vendor lists become common. And double-ordering – where purchase orders…
Global smartphone sales to end users declined 20.2% in the first quarter of 2020, according to Gartner, Inc. The global shelter-in-place combined with the economic uncertainty brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic led to demand for smartphones collapsing as consumers stopped spending on nonessential products during the first quarter. “The coronavirus pandemic caused the global smartphone market…
The first quarter of 2020 has represented a historic low for the smartphone industry. While some technology sectors, like cloud services, have excelled amid the coronavirus pandemic, the mobile industry has not. As Covid-19 continues to spread throughout the globe, it’s causing substantial economic effects on smartphone companies. Counterpoint Research reports a 13% year-over-year loss…
Worldwide semiconductor revenue totaled $418.3 billion in 2019, down 11.9 percent from 2018, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. Intel regained the No. 1 position in the market as the downturn in the memory market negatively impacted many of the top vendors, including Samsung Electronics, the No. 1 vendor by revenue in 2018 and…
With a forecasted 34 percent drop in the memory market this year, Intel is once again expected to rank as the largest semiconductor supplier and have sales that are 26 percent larger than Samsung in 2019, according to market research firm IC Insights. Intel was the number one ranked semiconductor supplier in 1Q17 but lost…
Intel replaced Samsung as the number one quarterly semiconductor supplier in 4Q18 after losing the lead spot to Samsung in 2Q17, according the market research firm IC Insights. While Samsung held the full-year number one ranking in 2017 and 2018, Intel is forecast to easily recapture the number one ranking for the full year of…