NEW YORK (AP) -- The market for semiconductor equipment will see a 28 percent decline for 2008 and continue on a downward trajectory next year, an industry trade group projected Tuesday.
Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International said the market will likely decline another 21 percent in 2009 before rebounding in 2010 with 31 percent growth.
That follows 5.7 percent growth in 2007.
The group's chief executive, Stanley T. Myers, blamed the sales decline on falling demand amid a declining global economy and said in a statement that the projected uptick in 2010 is based on "patterns of previous industry recoveries."
Leading the decline, the group said, will be wafer processing equipment, likely declining by about 28 percent in 2008 to revenue of $22.95 billion. Assembly and packaging equipment is expected to fall by about 24 percent to $2.16 billion, while equipment for testing semiconductors is projected to drop 27 percent to $3.69 billion.
