Date: 25/01/2012
Samsung is world's 2nd producer and consumer of semiconductor devices
Gartner has reported from its latest analysis of top consumers of semiconductor devices in 2011. As per its study the top 10 consumers bought $105.6 Billion worth of chips which constitute more than 35% of total semiconductor revenue in 2011, which is estimated at US$300 Billion (approx.). According to Gartner it is an increase of $1.8 billion, or 1.8 percent from 2010.
Another interesting trend is mobile device (both phone and tablet ) is over-taking computer segment as the top consuming segment. Apple is reported as number one consumer of chips, where as the 2nd big consumer Samsung is not only a big consumer and is also world's number 2 producer of chips, just behind Intel.
The major growth drivers in 2011 as per Masatsune Yamaji, principal research analyst at Gartner were smartphones, media tablets and solid-state drives (SSDs). He said "Apple, Samsung Electronics and HTC, increased their semiconductor demand, while those who lost market share in this segment, such as Nokia and LG Electronics, decreased their semiconductor demand. Media tablets were also a growth driver for the semiconductor market throughout 2011."
Mr. Yamaji alerts saying "Given the rapidly changing competitive structure of the IT and electronics industry, no semiconductor device vendor can afford just to monitor the requirements of the current market leaders,".
"Vendors need to be constantly looking for new market entrants who will, in turn, be tomorrow's market leaders." He adds.
Gartner finds DRAM prices have fallen drastically in 2011, and many PC vendors decreased their total semiconductor demand accordingly, the success of the MacBook Air enabled Apple to increase semiconductor chip demand even in its PC business.
Rank
2010
Rank
2011
Company
2010
2011
Growth (%)
Share (%)
3
1
Apple
12,819
17,257
34.6
5.7
2
2
Samsung Electronics
15,272
16,681
9.2
5.5
1
3
HP
17,585
16,618
-5.5
5.5
5
4
Dell
10,497
9,792
-6.7
3.2
4
5
Nokia*
11,318
9,042
-20.1
3.0
6
6
Sony*
9,020
8,210
-9.0
2.7
7
7
Toshiba
7,768
7,589
-2.3
2.5
10
8
Lenovo
6,091
7,537
23.7
2.5
8
9
LG Electronics
6,738
6,645
-1.4
2.2
9
10
Panasonic
6,704
6,267
-6.5
2.1
Others
195,552
196,413
0.4
65.0
Total
299,364
302,051
0.9
100.0
TAM = total available market
Source: Gartner (January 2012)
Mr. Yamaji said semiconductor procurement by ODMs and EMS providers has increased year over year. Currently, three of the top 10 purchasing TAM companies are so-called contract manufacturers.
Mr. Yamaji suggests "Semiconductor chip vendors must pay attention not just to the design TAM and purchasing TAM by company, but also by region,". "This is the key to avoiding inappropriate sales resource allocation. They must keep an eye on design-win opportunities in the U.S., while also establishing a strong distribution network in China."