HELSINKI (Reuters) - Global semiconductor revenue is expected to fall 16.3 percent in 2009 to $219.2 billion after a 4.4 percent fall this year, hit by the sweeping economic downturn, research firm Gartner said on Tuesday.
In mid-November Gartner had forecast for the market to fall just 2.2 percent next year.
"Never before has the semiconductor industry experienced revenue declines in back-to-back years," Gartner said, adding it expects semiconductor sales in the fourth quarter of 2008 to show a sharpest-ever quarter-on-quarter decline of 24.4 percent.
Consumer demand for electronics, from computers to digital cameras, is drying up quickly amid the financial crisis and the prospect of a lingering global recession.
Chip makers from giants such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd to contract manufacturers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co all expect weak sales in the coming quarters.
Gartner said it expects the semiconductor industry to bounce back in 2010 and 2011, with worldwide semiconductor revenue reaching $251.2 billion in 2010, a 14.6 percent increase from 2009, and in 2011 revenue rising 9.4 percent from 2010.
(Reporting by Tarmo Virki; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)
