Chips tipped for "bumpy" come back

All hail the chip...

The semiconductor industry will emerge from its two-year long decline by the end of this year. Research from IDC predicts that the PC chip market will begin to recover in the second half of this year but the road to increased revenues will be "bumpy". PC chip companies had a tough year in 2001 as demand stalled and price wars took their toll. Estimates are that this segment of the market will grow by 3.4 per cent to $29.1bn this year while the mobile chip industry will see revenues rise by 1.6 per cent to $8.4bn. However, the sector will have to wait until 2003 for "healthy" revenue growth.