Second-quarter shipments from major Asian chip foundries could be up 50 percent, running well ahead of the typical pace for the period, says Mehdi Hosseini, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets.
Foundry shipments could be up 50 percent in the second quarter, says FBR Capital Markets
The upbeat forecast follows an unusually slow first quarter, when shipments are estimated to have been down 35 percent, said Hosseini in a research note on Tuesday.
The outlook offers a welcome change of pace for an industry that has been hit particularly hard by the slowing economy and the decreased in demand it brought for computers and other goods with semiconductors inside.
But while the second quarter suggests some making up for lost time and depleted inventories, its sustainability is still a question mark.
Consumption in China appears to be the biggest reason for the improving sales, as communications and computer markets elsewhere have yet to rebound, says Hosseini.
It the U.S. and Europe do not show some bounce, third quarter results could weaken. Estimates for the third quarter presently show an 8 to 10 percent increase, the analyst says.
Maybe the stimulus spending by Western nations will kick in.
Posted by Mark Boslet 
