Economic woes eroding IT spending
Industry tracker IDC on Wednesday slashed its projection of global spending on information technology, saying it expects the figure to rise a meager half percent in 2009 because of economic turmoil.
IDC backed off a November prediction that IT spending worldwide would grow 2.6% in 2009 and said that if exchange rate trends continue US technology exporters will take financial beatings.
"The sharp economic downturn which began in 2007 is now affecting consumer and IT spending in a significant way," IDC said in a release.
"The semiconductor market, which was one of the first industries to be affected, remains in a state of turbulence."
Broad declines in shipments of semiconductors that are integral parts of nearly all electronic devices signal that manufacturers will be pumping out fewer gadgets for the market, according to IDC.
IDC expects the semiconductor market to plunge 22% this year after sliding two percent in 2008. The "abrupt slowdown" in chip shipments is likely to affect Asia, Europe and the United States, according to IDC.
The worldwide semiconductor market will not recover until 2010, IDC predicts.
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