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PRAGUE – The global semiconductor market is expected to grow 3.8% on an annualized basis to $257.2 billion in 2007, according to the autumn forecast of the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics.

Projected growth in the worldwide semiconductor market will decrease from 6.8% growth in 2006, WSTS says. However, current projections have been revised upwards by 1.5 percentage points compared to the forecast WSTS issued in May, mainly as a result of a strong third quarter.

No need was seen to revise the future market development scenario significantly, so that 2008 and 2009 remained close to the original projections with 9.1% and 6.2% growth respectively, according to WSTS.

"The WSTS foresees a continuously growing demand for electronic products such as PCs, digital consumer appliances and mobile communications, enhanced by the increase of semiconductor content per installed system," said Toshio Ogawa, worldwide chairman of WSTS. He continued, "These trends are expected to unfold in a challenging, yet generally healthy world economy."

The current forecast anticipates a positive growth throughout the forecasting period, peaking in 2008. While the forecasted semiconductor market does not show a pronounced cyclical pattern, some product groups maintain cycles similar to historical patterns. The Asia Pacific region continues to be the fastest growing geographical area, due to the dynamics of both strongly rising domestic demand and the continuing manufacturing shift to this region, according to WSTS.