(By Balachander) International Data Corp. (IDC) forecasts worldwide semiconductor revenue to improve in 2013 mainly driven by smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes and automotive electronics.
Semiconductor revenue will see nominal growth at less than 1 percent reaching $304 billion this year and improve by 4.9 percent to $319 billion in 2013, IDC said.
Weakness in PC demand coupled with continued global macroeconomic uncertainty and ongoing fear of fiscal cliff negotiations' impact on IT spending are affecting global semiconductor demand this year, IDC said.
However, IDC expects semiconductor revenue growth over the coming years helped by strong demand for smartphones, tablets, and automotive electronics in China, India, and Brazil.
In the U.S., 4G phones, tablets and e-readers, network infrastructure, and set-top box deployments will drive a healthy semiconductor growth cycle over the next five years, IDC said.
"Semiconductors for smartphones will see healthy revenue growth as appetite for data, multimedia processing, and multitasking will drive high-end smartphone demand in developed countries while an ongoing transition to 3G networks will accelerate smartphone adoption in developing regions," said Mali Venkatesan, research manager for Semiconductors at IDC.
IDC projects semiconductor revenue for 4G phones to grow 140.1 percent in 2013. Semiconductor revenue for the Consumer segment will record growth of 9.8 percent in 2013.
Asia/Pacific will continue to grow its share of semiconductor revenue, with growth of 5.5 percent in 2013, IDC said.