Worldwide semiconductor sales may sink 34 percent this year after terrorist attacks stalled shipments last week and may hurt consumer purchases, market researcher IC Insights Inc said.
The researcher had previously forecast a 27 percent decline in sales of the thumbnail-sized chips that power everything from personal computers to cell phones. That already would have been the worst year on record, surpassing the 20 percent drop in 1985.
Consumers may buy fewer PCs and electronic devices as they worry about the economy after terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon, IC Insights said. Air travel in the US was halted for much of the week, which may also crimp sales since most chipmakers rely on air cargo for the majority of their shipments. "With what happened last week, the industry is so much in lock-step with the overall economy that we're looking for a slower US economy -- especially in the fourth quarter -- than we were expecting," said Bill McClean, president of Scottsdale, Arizona- based IC Insights.
Third-quarter sales may fall 15 percent from the June period to US$25 billion, and fourth-quarter results will probably show little change from that figure, he said.
McClean still expects a double-digit growth rate next year, maybe as high as 20 percent.
The shares of Texas Instruments Inc., the biggest maker of chips for cell phones, fell US$2.70, or 10 percent, to US$24.30. They've lost 59 percent of their value in the past year.
Micron Technology Inc, the biggest maker of computer-memory chips, dropped US$3.78, or 13 percent, to US$25.42. Intel Corp, the biggest computer-processor maker, fell US$0.12 to US$23.47.
The lowered forecast was reported earlier by Semiconductor Business News.
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