PC semiconductor revenue, including desktop and mobile, will grow by 18 percent in 2004 to $53.6 billion, according to a new report by market research firm, IDC.

IDC said that the economic recovery and rising demand for PCs boosted the PC semiconductor market starting in the second half of 2003. But much of that growth came from sales to consumers rather than corporations. In addition, unit sales rose but prices remained stable. To sustain the growth, PC makers need sales to both consumers and corporations.

The year 2004's 18 percent growth marks the highest growth rate during IDC's forecast period from 2003 through 2008.  During this 5-year period, the company expects a compound annual growth rate of 7.8 percent for the semiconductor industry.

"The recovery of the PC semiconductor market will hit its stride in 2004, specifically in the second half of the year," said Shane Rau, lead PC semiconductor analyst, in a statement. "Carrying the recovery along will be the key trends of mobility, connectivity, and increasing overlap between the consumer and PC markets."

The IDC forecast also found that mobile PC semiconductor revenue will grow at a more dramatic compound annual growth rate than desktop PC semiconductor revenue.  Mobile is expected to have a growth rate of 16.9 percent compared with Desktop's rate of 2.9 percent.

Breaking it down to specific devices, PC processor and main memory subsystems will grow significantly on an absolute revenue basis during the forecast period, according to IDC.

And the communications subsystem of the mobile PC semiconductor market will achieve the highest growth rate during the forecast period, driven by wireless connectivity growth such as WiFi embedded in mobile PCs, IDC said.

By: DocMemory
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