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STAMFORD, CT – Despite ongoing demand from emerging markets, electronics sales will slow as consumers worldwide cut spending in response to the sluggish economy, says Gartner Inc.

"In coming months we expect to see signs of a widespread slowdown in the electronics sector," said Richard Gordon, Gartner analyst. The chip industry will most likely not begin recovery until the second half of 2009, says the firm.

PC and cellphone sales have held up well so far to this year because of demand in emerging markets such as China, India, Russia and South America, Gordon said, according to published reports. But, these nations will eventually feel the impact of global economic struggles.

In March, Gartner lowered its 2008 global semiconductor forecast, citing falling memory chip prices and the weakening global economy.

In March, Gartner’s 2008 global semiconductor revenue forecast dropped to 3.4%, to $278.4 billion, compared to a prior prediction of 6.2%. In 2007, semiconductor revenue reached $269.4 billion, up 2.5% year-over-year.

A week later, Gartner cautioned about increasing chip inventories, which continues to be an issue, according to the firm.

Also, many memory chipmakers recently have reported huge second-quarter losses, with expectations low for the third quarter as well, says the researcher.

EL SEGUNDO, CA – Research firm iSuppli Corp. has launched a supplier relationship management training center for electronics companies.

iSuppli is offering six courses for OEM procurement teams, covering everything from supplier relationship management and strategic supplier assessment to cross-cultural negotiation in low-cost geographies.

Courses are conducted at client facilities and are available immediately.

Dan Hawtof, a 20-year industry veteran, has been named to run the center.

“Through the Advanced Learning Center, we’re helping companies learn how to gather, interpret and apply knowledge in ways that have an immediate and positive impact on their performance,” said Hawtof, vice president, Performance Research Services.

TORONTO – EMS provider SMTC Corp. recorded a second-quarter net loss of $6.3 million after a $5.7 million restructuring charge. This compares to a net income of $100,000 for the same period last year. In the first quarter, SMTC reported net income of $400,000.

SAN JOSE – The global market for semiconductors was $25.52 billion in June, up 12.2% year-over-year, and up about 20.7% sequentially, according to World Semiconductor Trade Statistics.

Showing strongest growth geographically, Asia-Pacific reached $13.19 billion, up 17.6% compared to last year. Japan's market was $4.28 billion, up 3%; Europe's market was $3.99 billion, up 7.5%, and the Americas region was $4.06 billion, up 11.3% year-over-year, say published reports.

FRAMINGHAM, MA – The worldwide enterprise storage system semiconductor market will grow to $1.3 billion by 2012, a CAGR of 6%, says IDC.

The semiconductor demands of the storage system market are compelling OEMs to move quickly to grab as much of the market as they can, or face being shut out by enterprise customers, according to the research firm.

However, the storage systems market opportunity for semiconductors will fluctuate throughout the forecast period, as a result of pricing pressures coupled with technological changes. IDC believes the emergence of iSCSI and fibre channel-over-Ethernet products, as well as the growing need for SAS expanders/multiplexers and storage services processors, will be growth drivers.

To capture a significant share of the storage system semiconductor market, semiconductor vendors should carefully watch the market dynamics among the following technologies: 10GE/iSCSI from a SAN perspective, FcoE, and SAS, says IDC.