“A C-Suite favourite, the Global Semiconductor Monthly Report provides monthly analysis and commentary on the global semiconductor industry and the future market outlook and forecast.
The month’s Report title: “Market Fundamentals Remain Weak … The Outlook’s Far From Certain Or Clear”
July saw Opto bounce back into growth, continuing its wild monthly oscillation since it turned down in November 2023, with the market growing 3.7 percent vs. July 2023, compared with June’s 11.2 percent decline. The Discrete sector continued its 7-month long trawl in negative annualised growth territory, at minus 9.2 percent, compared with minus 12.3 percent in June and minus 13.8 percent in May. The overall Discrete growth trend has now seemingly turned a corner and, optimistically, is starting to show the first signs of a broader industry recovery. In contrast, ICs, the powerhouse behind the industry’s current revenue growth, saw its eighth consecutive month of strong double-digit annualised growth, at 23.0 percent, up slightly from June’s 22.1 percent growth but down from May’s 30.1 percent number. Excluding memory, however, the annualised IC market showed a more subdued single-digit 8.8 percent growth, reflecting just how strong an
impact the memory rebound has been on the overall total IC and total semiconductor markets. The overall year-on-year total Semiconductor annualised market growth was 18.0 percent in July, up from last month’s 15.9 percent number, but
lower than May’s 22.6 percent growth. This was the ninth consecutive month of double-digit annualised growth since the market turned positive in September 2023. Peel back the façade though, and the devil lies in the detail. Sadly, the overall industry fundamentals remain stubbornly weak, with unit sales and the Analog IC and Discrete markets still gripped in recession. A broader-based industry recovery is unlikely before mid-2025.