IC Insights has raised its IC market growth rate forecast for 2017 to 22%, up 6pp from its previous estimate of 16% growth.

IC Insights also raised its IC unit volume shipment growth rate forecast to 14% from the 11% estimated previously. A large portion of the market forecast revision is due to the surging DRAM and NAND flash markets, according to the market research firm.

In addition, IC Insights also revised upward its forecast for the O-S-D (optoelectronics, sensor/actuator and discretes) market. In total, the semiconductor industry is now expected to register a 20% increase in 2017, up 5pp from the 15% growth estimated previously, IC Insights said.

For 2017, IC Insights expects a whopping 77% increase in the DRAM ASP, which is forecast to propel the DRAM market to 74% growth this year, the largest growth rate since the 78% DRAM market increase in 1994. After including a 44% expected surge in the NAND flash market in 2017, including a 38% increase in NAND flash ASP this year, the total memory market is forecast to jump by 58% in 2017 with another 11% increase forecast for 2018.

At US$72.0 billion, the DRAM market is forecast to be by far the largest single product category in the semiconductor industry in 2017, exceeding the expected NAND flash market (US$49.8 billion) by US$22.2 billion this year, IC Insights said. The DRAM and NAND flash segments are forecast to have a strong positive impact of 13pp on total IC market growth this year. Excluding these memory segments, the IC industry is forecast to grow by 9%, less than half of the current total IC market growth rate forecast of 22% when including these memory markets, according to IC Insights.

By: DocMemory
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