“Horrible uncertainty” ahead for IC market, says analyst

Despite pockets of growth, recovery of the semiconductor industry at large is still not taking shape, according to the latest analysis of Future Horizons’ Malcolm Penn (via Electronics Weekly). Noting “horrible uncertainty,” the analyst is cautiously projecting 13-17 percent growth for the running year and 5-11 percent for next year.

Most of the industry’s growth this year has been driven by demand for AI accelerators and high-bandwidth memory. The optoelectronic, discrete and analog markets are in the red, and if these are down, it’s clear that the electronics market “isn’t doing well,” Penn said during his forecast webinar. Unit shipments are below the trendline, unit demand is soft, there’s still excess capacity and the world economy is of no help.