El Segundo, Calif. — Worldwide semiconductor revenue in the first quarter of 2009 fell to $44.3 billion, down 18.8 percent from $54.5 billion in the fourth quarter, and dropped 33.8 percent from $66.8 billion in the first quarter of 2008, according to market research company iSuppli Corp.
iSuppli reports that every major region of the world experienced double-digit percentage declines in semiconductor revenue in the first quarter compared to the fourth. “Although the first quarter is typically weak for the global semiconductor industry, the sharp declines in semiconductor during that period and in the fourth quarter of 2008 reflect the impact of the global economic downturn on the worldwide chip business,” said Dale Ford, senior vice president, market intelligence, for iSuppli, in a statement.
Of the 130+ semiconductor companies tracked by iSuppli only six expanded their revenue in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2008.
Revenue is down 36.2 percent from the start of the present downturn in the third quarter of 2008, says iSuppli.
The good news: iSuppli says the first quarter of 2009 represents the bottom of the semiconductor market decline and that revenues in the fourth quarter of 2009 will exceed those in the fourth quarter of 2008. On a sequential basis, revenue will rise by 7.1 percent in the second quarter, by 10.4 percent in the third quarter and by 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter.