Global semiconductor sales are poised to rise 24 percent this year, more than forecast, driven by higher-than-expected demand for mobile phones and other products, market researcher iSuppli said.
Sales will rise to US$226.5 billion this year, compared with US$182 billion last year, El Segundo, California-based iSuppli said.
This year will be the first all major applications for chips will experience growth for the first time since 1999, iSuppli said.
In April, the researcher forecast 20 percent growth. Sales will rise 12 percent in 2005 and stall in 2006 with 0.1 percent growth, it said.
Intel Corp, the world's largest chipmaker, this month said it would meet the higher end of its sales forecast range for the second quarter. South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co, the second-largest, has said since March it expects a global shortage of computer memory during the second half of this year.
Separately, Semiconductor Equipment & Materials International said that orders to North American companies that sell equipment used to build semiconductors more than doubled last month from a year earlier.
The book-to-bill ratio for North American chip-tool makers was 1.11 last month, indicating they received US$111 in orders for every US$100 in sales, the San Jose, California-based trade group said in a statement. The ratio measures industry health and was revised to 1.13 in April, compared with 1.09 in March. Above 1 indicates growth. The three-month average of worldwide bookings in May was flat at US$1.576 billion from US$1.581 billion in April and jumped from US$724 million a year earlier.
Billings rose to US$1.42 billion last month from US$1.39 billion in April and increased 77 percent from US$805 million a year earlier.
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