SAN FRANCISCO—Semico Research Corp. this week became the latest market research firm to cut its forecast for 2012 chip market growth, saying it now expects global semiconductor sales to increase 6 to 8 percent in 2012.
Semico (Phoenix) had said earlier this year it expected the chip market to grow by 8 to 10 percent this year. The company said this week that at the beginning of the year it was more optimistic partly because of pent-up PC demand stemming from the flooding in Thailand last year.
Semico said it also had hoped that problems in the Eurozone would be resolved, but that the problems persist.
Despite the forecast cut, Semico remains more optimistic than other noteable semiconductor industry market watchers. Semico's growth forecast for the chip market remains the high water mark, with most market research firms expecting growth of between 2 and 6 percent this year.
Earlier this week, ABI Research said the chip market could contract by up to 5 percent this year due to a lack of confidence in the global economy and a past lack of investment in semiconductor manufacturing setting the stage for a soft second half of the year.
