SAN JOSE, CA — EMS companies showed strong year-over-year first-quarter growth on the whole, says market research firm Gartner Inc.

Nine top EMS companies showed growth of 16% in the first quarter compared to 2006, according to the research firm.

Flextronics, Jabil and Solectron and Benchmark Electronics had significant first-quarter growth. Flextronics was up to $4.7 billion, a year-over-year growth of $1.2 billion. Solectron's sales were $2.9 billion in the first quarter, up from $2.5 billion in the same period last year. Jabil had double-digit growth in telecommunications and improved in instrumentation and medical.

Revenue shrinkage and slow growth occurred at companies such as Celestica, Elcoteq and Sanmina-SCI, Gartner said.