Intel retained the market leadership in terms of revenues
Worldwide semiconductor industry achieved a slower growth in 2011 when compared to 2010 primarily due to the macroeconomic uncertainties in the US and Europe, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and floods in Thailand, according a new report from the research firm IDC.
The research firm said global semiconductor revenues increased more than 3.7% year-over-year to $301bn in 2011 compared with the previous year revenues.
The robust consumption of semiconductors in 2011 was driven by device applications, such as smartphones, media tablets and e-readers, notebook PCs, datacentre servers, automotive infotainment, and wireless and wired communication infrastructure.
Out of the 100 semiconductor companies surveyed by IDC, over 40 of them experienced more than 5% year-over-year revenue growth, while nearly the same number of companies saw their revenue decline by more than 5%.
Intel led the market in terms of revenue in 2011, with $51.8bn in 2011, followed Samsung with semiconductor revenues of $29bn, while Texas Instruments, Toshiba, and Renesas Electronics were in the third, fourth and fifth position, respectively.
The first five companies together with the next five suppliers Qualcomm, Hynix, STMicro, Micron, and Broadcom represented 53% of total worldwide semiconductor revenues, an increase of 3% over 2010.
Microprocessors registered strong growth within the semiconductor device types due to high demand and increased ASPs for Intel's chips.
Revenues from NAND also increased, whereas DRAM saw revenue decline more than 25% due to supply glut and falling ASPs, IDC said.
Growth above the industry average was experienced in both Asia/Pacific and Americas, while negative growth was seen in Japan and Europe.
Wireless communication and automotive segments registered more than 10% year-over-year semiconductor revenue growth, while the consumer segment was flat.
