Better year for semis in 2016

This year’s slow semi market growth was due to 3.9% growth in Asia-Pac offset by a 10.3% fall in Japan and an 8.2% fall in Europe, says Market Realist.

Demand was affected by the slowdown in PC (personal computer) shipments, a strengthening US dollar, economic contraction in Japan, the European crisis, and the crash of the Chinese stock market. China accounts for more than 50% of the global semiconductor consumption.

WSTS expects the market to grow 0.2% to $336 billion in 2015. However, it expects the market to pick up its pace over the coming years, with 1.4% growth in 2016 and 3.1% growth in 2017.

However, the 9.9% growth witnessed in 2014, before the slowdown, is unlikely to repeat in the near term. The forecast is based on the assumption that the macro economy will revive during this period.

According to the 2016 forecast, the highest growth will come from the Americas region, followed by a revival in Japan and loss improvement in Europe.

However, the Asia-Pacific region—the key semiconductor market that has been driving growth in the industry so far—will witness a slowdown, mainly due to China’s weak economy.

All regions are forecast to grow in 2017.

WSTS forecasts all semiconductor products to report growth next year, except for memory, as the demand for PC and smartphones slows.