Report: stronger H2 in store for electronics equipment.

EL SEGUNDO, CA -- Following three years of strong growth, the global electronic equipment market's expansion will decelerate slightly in 2007, iSuppli Corp. (isuppli.com) predicts.

Electronics equipment revenues will grow 12% in the second half, to bring the annual growth to 6%, says iSuppli.

The past three years have seen a strong electronics equipment market, with worldwide revenue growing 11%, 8% and 7.7% in 2004, 2005 and 2006, respectively, says the firm.

The strongest growth has come from PCs, mobile handsets and consumer electronics products such as MP3 players and digital televisions. However, the growth this year will slow to 6% as the wireless, consumer and industrial markets cool--even as the PC market revives, says Gary Grandbois, principal analyst with iSuppli, in a recent report.

Mobile handset growth remains vibrant and is expected to end the year with a 10% unit increase. However, revenue growth will be 5% as ASPs continue to decline, says the firm.

Semiconductor revenue for wireless communications grew by 14.2% last year, driven by 20.7% unit growth in handsets. The 2007 semiconductor revenue growth for wireless communications will be 7.7%, as the handset unit increase slows to 10%, adds iSuppli.

Revenue growth for the consumer electronics market dropped by about one-third last year to 9%. And it is expected that growth will decline by more than one-third this year to 5.2% revenue growth as the market slows and ASPs continue to plummet.

The wired communications segment is expected to post 3.1% growth, and automotive electronics are expected to post a 3.9% increase, says the researcher.

The industrial market rebounded to 8% revenue growth last year, as the military/aerospace, medical and semiconductor manufacturing equipment markets grew strongly. But industrial market growth has flattened this year, especially in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment sector, and the total industrial market is expected to post 5.8% revenue.