国际英语新闻：Global semiconductor revenue to drop 17% this year: Gartner

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Worldwide semiconductor revenue is on track to decline 17 percent in 2009 from the previous year, market research firm Gartner said on Wednesday.

    According to Gartner's latest estimates, global semiconductor revenue is expected to total 212 billion U.S. dollars this year, compared with 255 billion dollars last year.

    The outlook is better than what Gartner foresaw earlier. The firm in May projected that semiconductor revenue will fall 22.4 percent this year.

    "The semiconductor market has performed better than expected, as was evident when second quarter semiconductor revenue increased17 percent in sequential sales," Bryan Lewis, research vice president at Gartner, said in a statement.

    "Consumers reacted strongly to reduced PC and LCD TV pricing as price elasticity was amazing. The industry also benefited from the China stimulus package that worked remarkably well to boost short-term demand," he added.

    "Governments worldwide took action quickly and extensively to avoid a meltdown, and it worked," Lewis noted.

    While the general outlook has improved, Gartner analysts predicted that all major segments of the semiconductor market will experience double-digital declines in revenue this year.

    Looking ahead, Gartner analysts now expect worldwide semiconductor revenue to reach 233 billion dollars in 2010.