The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), representing U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and design announced that worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $25.73 billion for the month of November, 2012 the largest monthly total of 2012 and a 2 percent increase from the prior month when sales were $25.22 billion. Sales from November 2012 also topped the November 2011 total of $25.22 billion by 2 percent, marking the global industry’s first year-over-year gain of 2012. Regionally, the Americas posted its largest year-over-year increase (9.7 percent) since April 2011. All monthly sales numbers represent a three-month moving average.

"The global semiconductor industry navigated difficult macroeconomic conditions in 2012, but encouraging growth led by the Americas in recent months has the industry pointed in the right direction heading into 2013," said Brian Toohey, President and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association. "To ensure that the industry’s momentum continues, Congress should remove ongoing economic uncertainty by enacting long-term reliable fiscal policies that boost America’s economic strength and global competitiveness."

Regionally, sequential monthly sales increased in the Americas (5.1 percent), Asia Pacific (2.7 percent) and Europe (0.4 percent), but decreased in Japan (-3.4 percent). In the Americas, combined sales from September through November grew sharply (20.2 percent) compared to sales from June through August, marking the region’s largest increase on a three-month moving average in the last decade.

The semiconductor industry is undergoing massive transformation as the rise in mobile computing, changes to the fabless-foundry model, uncertainties in technical innovation, and global macroeconomic trends become the dominant forces in 2013 and beyond \, according to industry leaders speaking at the SEMI Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS), in Half Moon Bay, CA.

Ajit Manocha, CEO of Global Foundries, during his keynote presentation discussed the dynamic technology and economic needs of mobile computing that is driving new approaches to the chip design-to-production cycle. Calling it "Foundry 2.0," he sees outsourced semiconductor manufacturing moving toward a more IDM-like model, creating new collaboration models and techniques to close the gap between process teams at foundries and design teams at the fabless companies. With daunting technical challenges like 3D stacking 450-mm fabs, new transistor architectures, multi-patterning, and the uncertainties to lithography-based scaling, product development paths with virtual teams will evolve and adapt rapidly in the coming months and years.

With new fabs now costing upwards of $8 billion and leading-edge manufacturing investments expected to exceed $40 billion this year alone, global economic trends and forces — increasingly influenced by uncertain consumer spending in both developed and emerging markets — have never been more important to the semiconductor ecosystem. Dr. John Williams, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said, "Many businesses are locked into a paralyzing state of anxiety."

Williams used the ISS conference to lessen uncertainty and anxiety in the capital markets, pledging to keep interest rates near zero until the unemployment rate drops to 6.5 percent, as long as inflation expectations do not climb above 2.5 percent.

Satya Kumar, Vice President at Credit Suisse, discussed how original equipment makers like phone and computer manufacturers have always benefitted from the declining cost of transistors and pondered, "Could stopping Moore’s law be a good thing?"

As the world’s largest semiconductor company, Intel’s view is different. Michael Bell,, Vice President, General Manager, Mobile and Communications Group at Intel, brought the audience up to date on the company’s mobile strategy, offering confidence that Intel’s portfolio of RF baseland technologies, leading-edge scaling performance and supply chain excellence will ultimately deliver significant success.

IC Insights’ 2013 edition of "The McClean Report – A Complete Analysis and Forecast of the Integrated Circuit Industry" shows that the fabless IC suppliers grew by 6 percent in 2012, 10 points better than the 4 percent decline registered by the IDMs (i.e., companies with IC fabrication facilities) and eight points better than the 2 percent decline shown by the total IC market last year.

Except for 2010, fabless company IC sales growth has outpaced IDM IC sales growth (or the decline was less severe) since 1999.

The year 2010 was the first and only time on record that IDM IC sales growth (34 percent) outpaced fabless IC company sales growth (29 percent). Since very few fabless IC suppliers particulate in the memory market, they did not receive a boost from the surging DRAM and NAND flash memory markets in 2010, which grew 75 percent and 44 percent, respectively.

Another reason for relatively poor showing by the total IC fabless segment in 2010 was that some of the large fabless IC suppliers like MediaTek and St.-Ericsson, registered growth that was less than half the total 2010 IC industry average. However, the fabless IC suppliers once again grew faster than the total IC market beginning in 2011 by registering a 5 percent increase as compared to a 1 percent decline in sales for the IDM companies.

Given the big disparity in the 1999-2012 CAGRs between the fabless IC suppliers and the IDMs, it comes as little surprise that, except in 2010, fabless IC companies have been increasing their share of the worldwide IC market. In 1999, fabless IC company sales accounted for just over 7 percent of the total IC market. However, in 2012, fabless IC suppliers represented 27.1 percent of worldwide IC sales, a new record high.

IC Insights forecasts that in 2017, fabless IC companies will command at least one-third (33 percent) of the total IC market (especially if more large companies like IDT, LSI Logic, Agere and AMD become fabless over the next five years). Over the long-term, IC Insights believes that fabless IC suppliers and the IC foundries that serve them, will continue to become a stronger force in the total IC industry.

TSMC announced its net sales for December 2012: On an unconsolidated basis, net sales were approximately NT$36.56 billion, a decrease of 16.2 percent from November 2012 and an increase of 19.6 percent over December 2011. Full-year revenues for 2012 totaled NT$499.87 billion, an increase of 19.5 percent compared to 2011.

Over a consolidated basis, net sales for December 2012 were approximately NT$37.11 billion, a decrease of 16.1 percent from November 2012 and an increase of 18.8 percent over December 2011. Consolidated full-year revenues for 2012 totaled NT$506.25 billion, an increase of 18.5 percent compared to 2011.

Big pharma companies are facing a widening "growth gap" that will increase pressure to drive growth through mergers and acquisitions (M&A). But big pharma’s attempts to make deals will be challenged by its diminished resources and fiercer competition for attractive assets from rapidly-growing big biotech and specialty pharma companies. These and other findings were released by Ernst & Young in the report "Closing the gap? Big pharma’s growth challenge and implications for deals."

"While the dynamics of the pharma industry remain fluid, the deal environment in 2013 and beyond will be more complex and competitive," said Glen Glovannetti, Ernst & Young’s Global Life Sciences Leader. "Life sciences companies that are positioned appropriately should benefit from increased competition and see higher premiums. However, the finite resources of many big pharma companies and the need to make prudent acquisitions to address the immediate growth gap mean they will likely be even more selective above the targets they pursue."

With continue flat sales in mature markets, big pharma — defined as the 16 largest U.S., European and Japanese pharma companies measured by revenue — has increasingly looked to emerging markets to drive overall revenue growth. However, a slowdown in these markets as a result of various factors has widened the "growth gap" facing the industry. By comparing the gap between IMS Health’s forecast for the global drug market and industry analysts’ estimates of big pharma sales over the next three years. Ernst & Young estimates that this growth gap will reach approximately US$100 billion by 2015. In other words, big pharma will need an additional US$100 billion in revenue in 2015 just to keep up with overall market growth.

Thanks to a flat outlook in developed markets — in part a result of stagnation in the Eurozone — and a slowdown in emerging markets, sources of organic growth are under pressure. As a result, many big pharma companies are likely to accelerate their search for inorganic growth through M&S in 2013. However, the capacity of big pharma to conduct such deals has diminished in recent years. This is due to less available operating cash resulting from slower revenue growth — due partly from continued pressure on drug pricing — and increased borrowing to fund higher dividends, stock repurchases and previous transactions. According to Ernst & Young, the financial capacity of "firepower" of big pharma to conduct deals has declined by 23 percent between 2006 and 2012.

Even as big pharma’s deal making ability has shrunk, the firepower of big biotech and specialty pharma (including generics) companies has increased. According to Ernest & Young’s Firepower Index, between 2006 and 2012 the firepower of big biotech has increased by 61 percent while specialty pharma’s firepower is up 20 percent. As a result of these shifts, big pharma’s share of the combined acquisition capacity of these three segments has fallen from 85 percent in 2006 to 75 percent in 2012.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved eight new drugs in December pushing the year’s total to 39, its highest level since 1996 when the agency cleared a backlog of applications.

Though December’s newly-approved drugs cover a broad range of conditions, the agency had granted orphan drug status to six of the eight medicines. Orphan drug status confers financial and other benefits to a drug’s sponsor to encourage the development of drugs to treat patient populations of 200,000 or less in the United States. In fact, nearly half of the 39 drugs approved in 2012 had orphan drug designations.

"We’ve seen drug makers embrace orphan drugs for a variety of reasons including the opportunity to win faster approvals and run smaller, less costly clinical trials and better chances of success," says G. Steven Burrill, CEO of Burrill & Company, a global financial services firm focused on the life sciences. "The passage in 2012 of new incentives for developing rare disease drugs will only further fuel this trend, particularly as more precision therapies are developed to target subpopulations of patients with a given disease."

Trading activity of biotech stocks echoed the positive year for new drug approvals as life sciences stocks soared in 2012. The Burrill Select Index ended the year up 40.5 percent. That compares to a 7.3 percent increase in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a 13.4 percent gain for the S&P 500 and a 15.9 percent rise in the NASDAQ Composite Index. An improving economy, clinical advances, new product approvals, and M&A activity drove the gains. Serepta Therapeutics posted the biggest gain in 2012 with its shares rising 477 percent. The company in 2012 reported that its mid-stage experimental muscular dystrophy drug demonstrably improved the ability to walk for boys taking the drug.

Life sciences companies in California developed nine of the 32 novel medicines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 212, according to the annual "California Biomedical Industry Report," published by BayBio, California Healthcare Institute (CHI) and PwC US. The pace of product approvals and pipeline productivity of California-based biomedical companies reinforces the state’s position as the nation’s leading source of biomedical innovation.

"California continues to deliver life-saving treatments and new technologies that offer hope for patients in need," said David L. Gollaher, Ph.D., President and CEO of CHI. "Last year alone, we saw the approval of novel medicines to treat rare forms of cancer, anemia associated with chronic kidney disease and cystic fibrosis, among others."

The California Biomedical Industry Report provides an annual snapshot of the biomedical industry in California, the largest biomedical cluster in the world and source of the greatest number of products in clinical development. The 2013 report found California to be:

• No. 1 in jobs: Biomedical industry employment in California has grown at an average annual rate of 0.5 percent over the past five years. There are currently 269,997 people employed in the total biomedical industry, and 152,806 employees in the core sectors of biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, instruments and diagnostics, and research and development/testing laboratories.
• No. 1 in new treatments to patients: Twenty-one percent of the nation’s biomedical R&D pipeline is comprised of innovation from California laboratories.
• No. 1 in venture capital investments: California biomedical companies secured $1.98 billion in venture capital investment through the first three quarters of 2012, a great amount that any other state and equal to the total combined amount that went to companies in the next eight states, ranked by VC investments.
• No. 1 in federal funding: $3.33 billion in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) went to California institutions, more than any other state and 15.1 percent of total national NIH funding.

"As the center of biomedical innovation in the U.S., California’s biomedical industry is a national treasure," said Gail Maderis, President and CEO of BayBio. "But the pace of R&D productivity and its global leadership position hang on the availability of capital to fund future innovation and a regulatory framework that is based on consistency and innovative technologies."

The 2013 California Biomedical Industry Report includes findings from a survey of 175 biomedical company CEOs, who report significant improvements in the FDA regulatory process over the past year and a notable reduction in project delays due to regulatory issues. Despite this progress, biomedical companies say that lack of adequate funding, government pricing intervention and the FDA regulatory environmental represent the biggest risks to future success in biomedical innovation.

The 2013 Biomedical Industry Report found:

• Nearly 14 percent of respondents said that the FDA regulatory process had improved over the prior year.
• Sixteen percent of biomedical companies delayed a project because of regulation this past year, a 17 percent decline from the previous year.
• Fifty-nine percent of CEOs cited limited or lack of access to capital as the most threatening issue to the short-term health of biomedical innovation.
• More than 50 percent of CEOs report that health insurance coverage and reimbursement issues have become more difficult in the past year.
• Nearly 90 percent of CEOs believe the industry’s relationship with FDA is extremely important to advancing biomedical innovation in California, but 57 percent feel that regulatory processes have not kept pace with advance of science and technology, and thus it poses a risk to innovation.

More of California’s biomedical companies are pursuing foundation funding, corporate partnering, corporate venture and angel investors than in years past. As the use of federal funds is debated, California institutions have demonstrated their value.

• $3.33 billion in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) went to California institutions, more than any other state and 15.1 percent of total national NIH funding.
• California biomedical companies received $1.98 billion through the first three quarters of 2012, the most by any state and double the amount for the second largest state recipient.
• California’s share of early and seed stage venture capital deals increased from 60 percent to 63 percent of total U.S. life sciences venture capital investment; however, overall biotech venture capital through the 3^rd quarter of 2012 declined to $2.98 billion from $4.91 billion in 2011.
• M&A activity among California companies declined by 36 percent from 2009, when M&A reached a 10-year high. The percentage of CEO’s that indicated over the next 12 months their organization is more likely to participate in a merger or acquisition was down 11 points from the prior year.

Since 2013 brings uncertainty with it due to a number of issues and concerns, MDT Magazine sought out the industry’s supplier side to see where their thoughts were focused.

What will 2013 bring for those involved with the development and manufacture of medical devices? While the impending 2.3 percent excise tax on all U.S. medical device sales (not profits) looms ominously over the industry, device makers are already preparing for its impact in a number of ways, from trimming staff to cutting R&D. The schedule for UDI implementation has been stepped up significantly, so many across the industry will be seeking options to fulfill identification requirements to become compliant with it. Suppliers and service providers alike are continuing an ongoing effort to have their supply chain in order to address a new level of cost control demands that will be issued by their medical device customers who enter the year working under even greater financial pressures. It’s no wonder there is so much uncertainty going into 2013 as there is within the industry.

With this in mind, suppliers and service providers need to make an effort to reassure their medical device customers that they are prepared and able to help them with the challenges they face in the coming year. From addressing supply chain concerns to trimming costs wherever possible, medical device OEM will be looking to their manufacturing partners to help ease the burdens they will encounter in 2013.

Foster Wheeler AG announced that it has acquired Yonkers Industries, Inc., a 30-year-old U.S.-based firm that specializes in the management of construction and commissioning of pharmaceutical and biotech facilities, with capabilities to also manage the full Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCm) of such facilities.

With offices in California, North Carolina and Puerto Rico, Yonkers Industries has approximately 200 professionals. Through its participation in a project-services partnership called Modular Partners, Yonkers also has the ability to provide modular project delivery services on a worldwide basis.

"The acquisition of Yonkers Industries gives our pharmaceutical business a construction management capability in North America," said Kent Masters, Chief Executive Officer of Foster Wheeler AG. "Yonkers has a global reputation for excellence in contract execution, and the addition of this construction management capability immediately strengthens our value proposition to pharmaceutical and biotech clients."

Masters added, "Foster Wheeler Biokinetics, our U.S.-based pharmaceutical unit, will experience the most immediate benefit from this acquisition — as the client portfolios and geographic coverage of the two companies fit together quite effectively. We believe that the project and construction management skills of Yonkers are a perfect complement to the biotech engineering expertise of Biokinetics."

Abbott announced it has completed the separation of its research-based pharmaceuticals business, which became AbbVie, a new independent biopharmaceutical company. AbbVie began trading independently on the New York Stock Exchange on January 2, 2013 under the symbol "ABBV."

On November 28, 2012, Abbott’s board of directors declared a special dividend distribution of all outstanding shares of AbbVie common stock. For every one share of Abbott common shares held as of close of business on December 12, 2012, Abbott shareholders received one share of AbbVie common stock on January 1, 2013.

Abbott announced in October 2011 that it was separating into two independent companies, as its businesses evolved into two different investment identities. AbbVie is a research-based specialty biopharmaceuticals company with a broad portfolio of medicines, including leadership in immunology and virology, and a pipeline of breakthrough therapies. Abbott is one of the largest science-based, diversified health care companies, with market-leading offerings in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic pharmaceuticals.

"We wish our colleagues at AbbVie continued success as they become part of a new, independent company that is already making a significant difference, focusing on highly-specialized, market-leading therapies for some of the world’s most difficult-to-treat diseases," said Miles D. White, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Abbott.

"Abbott has taken the most transformative action in its 125-year history," said Mr. White. "We have had enduring success precisely because of what we’re doing now — reinventing ourselves for changing times and creating new cays to serve the millions of patients, customers, communities and shareholders who depend on us."

Abbott begins its 125^th year with approximately $22 billion in revenues generated throughout 150 countries and remains one of the largest and most far-reaching global health care companies, with diversity across technologies, businesses and geographies.

The company is comprised of four businesses of roughly equal size — diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic pharmaceuticals. Abbott’s businesses are all leaders in their respective fields and hold the top market positions across numerous categories. These businesses develop leading, science-based products that are meeting the needs of patients and consumers in the evolving global health care environment.

Seagate Techology plc showcased the world’s most expansive portfolio of storage sollutions during the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show. Products designed for the Cloud, mobility and the home were featured.

Seagate’s new storage solutions add to its industry-leading product line.

Seagate^® Wireless Plus provides mobile storage for smart phones and tablets without wires or the web. Wireless Plus can connect up to eight mobile devices over its own Wi-Fi network. Designed with significant improvements and a beautiful new Seagate media app, this award-winning product includes a sleek industrial design and can now hold up to 500 HD movies all while delivering over 10 hours of continuous streaming. In its second-generation, Wireless Plus is a CEA Best of Innovations award winner for 2013.

Seagate^® Central is the first networked home storage solution to feature a Smart TV app for enjoyment of files from the big screen. A CES 2013 Innovations Honoree, Seagate Central delivers automatic backup for the entire home, access to movies, music and photos from networked devices, as well as remote access. The Seagate Media app is available for Android smart phones and tablets, Apple iPhone, Apple iPad and even Kindle Fire HD.

First introduced in June of 2012, Backup Plus external storage, a CES Innovations Honoree, introduced a new level of simplicity and elegance in design to direct attached backup solutions. Seagate Backup Plus is the first drive to include the Seagate Dashboard to allow one-clock backup of your system and automated backup of Facebook and Flickr albums.

Revenues for the consumer electrics (CE) industry are projected to grow nearly 3 percent, reaching a new record high of $20.6 billion, according to the semi-annual industry forecast released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)^® The forecast also shows 2012 industry revenues reached $204 billion, up 5 percent from the previous year. CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro announced the forecast in his opening remarks at the 2013 International CES^®, the world’s largest annual innovation event.

Mobile connected devices continue to drive industry growth:

• Tablet computing will continue double-digit growth in 2013. Unit sales of tablets are projected to reach 116 million this year, up 45 percent from 2012, when 80 million tablets were sold to dealers. Industry revenues for tablets are expected to surpass $37 billion this year, up from $31 billion in 2012.
• Smartphones continue to be the primary revenue driver or the industry with growth projected to continue in 2013. Unit sales of smartphones are projected to reach 130 million this year, u from 111 million in 2012. Smartphone shipment revenues are expected to surpass $37 billion in 2013, up from $33 billion in 2012
• Laptop/notebook computer sales will continue to rise as 26 million units are projected to be sold in 2013 accounting for $17 billion in revenue.

There are a number of bright spots within the television category that are helping drive overall industry growth, despite total unit sales of displays falling slightly in 2013. Both unit sales and revenues for LCD displays are projected to increase this year. A record-high 30.4 million LCD TVs are expected to ship to dealers in 2013, resulting in more than $15 billion in revenue. Innovations within the display category continue to grow. Sales of TV sets with 3D functionality are projected to increase 39 percent to more than 5.7 million units in 2013. Internet-connected displays will also see strong growth this year, with unit sales reaching 12.3 million, up from 9.2 million in 2012.

Elsewhere in the industry, a number of other categories are expected to see growth in 2013, including:

• Audio: Soundbar shipments are projected to increase 22 percent to 2.2 million units.
• Auto-sound: Aftermarket head units supporting Internet radio are projected to see sales nearly double, surpassing 2 million units.
• Digital Imaging: Shipments of compact system cameras with interchangeable lenses are projected to grow 22 percent to 1.1 million units.
• Set-Top Boxes: Network-enabled digital media set top box shipments are expected to hit 7.4 million units, a gain of 13 percent over 2012.

The "U.S. Consumer Electronics Sales and Forecast 2008-2013" (January 2013) is published twice a year, in January and July. It was designed and formulated by CEA, the most comprehensive source of sales data, forecasts, consumer research and historical trneds for the consumer electronics industry.

Tablet PC shipments are expected to reach more than 240 million units worldwide in 2013, easily exceeding the 207 million notebook PCs that are projected to ship, according to NPD DisplaySearch "Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report. In a market that has been dominated by one major player, Apple, shifting market dynamic are creating the opportunity for a greater variety of choices, which will drive shipment growth in 2013 to 64 percent year-over-year.

The rapid development and adoption of new screen sizes is allowing both large and small brands to gain market traction in all regions and create new demand for tablet PCs. The tablet market has been led by Apple’s 9.7-in. iPad, but in 2013 a new class of small tablets will take over the market. Tablet PCs with 7-8-in. screen sizes are expected to account for 45 percent, or 108 million units of the market in 2013, overtaking the 9.7-in. which will account for 17 percent share or about 41 million units.

As the variety and demand for new screen sizes increases, so will market growth in emerging markets. Having passed EMEA in 2012 to become the second-largest market for tablet PC shipments, China will have 27 percent of the global tablet market in 2013 with shipments of 65 million units, driven by small local brands. However, North America will remain the largest market with a 35 percent share (85 million units) in 2013. In both China and North America, tablet PC shipments surpassed notebook PC shipments in 2012.

Notebook PC shipments have been slowed by declining demand worldwide, reaching even emerging markets where low penetration rates could have stimulated demand. However, increasing tablet PC adoption is stymieing notebook PC growth. The second half of 2013 may provide a respite as new processors aim to bring more tablet PC-like features, such as instant on, all-day battery life, and sleek form factors, to notebook PCs.

"The tablet PC market saw increasing investments in North America in the second half of 2012, from major brands that tested not only new screen sizes and price points, but also unconventional business models to support their efforts. The subsequent increase in shipments and demand underscored the benefits of segmentation in the market as it drove rapid market expansion," said Richard Shim, Senior Analyst with NPD DisplaySearch. "In 2013, further investments are expected worldwide, stoking demand to the point that tablet PC shipments will exceed those of notebook PCs."

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 90.3 million units in the 4^th quarter of 2012, a 4.9 percent decline from the 4^th quarter of 2011, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. Analysts said the PC industry’s problems point to something beyond a weak economy.

"Tablets have dramatically changed the device landscape for PCs, not so much by ‘cannibalizing’ PC sales, but by causing PC users to shift consumption to tablets rather than replacing older PCs," said Mikako Kitagawa, Principal Analyst at Gartner. "Whereas as once we imagined a world in which individual users would have both a PC and a tablet as personal devices, we increasingly suspect that most individuals will shift consumption activity to a personal tablet, and perform creative and administrative tasks on a shared PC. There will be some individuals who retain both, but we believe they will be the exception and not the norm. Therefore, we hypothesize that buyers will not replace secondary PCs in the household, instead allowing them to age out and shifting consumption to a tablet."

Almost very smartphone shipped today has an embedded rear camera and one in three smartphones have a front-facing camera. The number of media tablets with two cameras is even greater. Purchasers expect to be able to take photos with their devices and the popularity of video calling is driving the integration of front-facing cameras. ABI Research projects one billion cameras were shipped in smartphones and tablets in 2012.

Apart from Nokia’s PureView 808, the majority of smartphone releases this year have kept camera resolution about 8 megapixel. Instead, mobile OEMs have looked into new features such as autofocus, rapid capture mode, best picture, and better image captures for low light environments. "Advancements in imaging technology are opening new doors for smartphones and media tablets," says Senior Analyst Josh Flood. "Mobile device cameras are becoming more than just a digital camera for taking snapshots of your kids and pet. New services like augmented reality and gesture recognition are now easily conceivable in mobile devices." Furthermore, these new features in imaging technologies are driving new services for mobile users. Additionally, the general advancements of imaging technologies or more specifically image processors are now enabling mobile devices to interpret gestures.

According to ABI Research’s latest study on imaging technology in mobile devices, 2.7 billion cameras in mobile devices are predicted to ship in 2018. Smartphones account for the majority of camera shipments, at 80 percent of the volume. More smartphones are anticipated to include front-facing cameras as video calling becomes more commonplace and the implementation of LTE network infrastructure in countries will further strengthen the demand of smartphones with these front-facing cameras. "Two hundred and thirty million smartphones are projected to be shipped with gesture recognition in 2015," adds Flood.

The new study "More Than a Digital Camera" analyzes imaging technology and new services enabled by cameras in mobile devices. It forms part of ABI Research’s "Mobile Device Technologies" Research Service.

According to the latest TV market forecast published in the NPD DisplaySearch "Quarterly Advanced Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report," 4K LCD TV shipments are projected to exceed OLED TV shipments through 2015. This is a result both of the delay in commercialization by OLED TV makers, as well as increased promotion of 4K LCD TVs by several brands. In addition, many Chinese TV brands are currently in the process of launching 4K LCD TVs in the domestic China market. OLED TVs are still expected to launch in 2013, but volumes are expected to be low and prices expected to be very high. A 4Kx2K resolution is not exclusive to LCD TV and 4K OLED TVs are also expected to be introduced at some point in premium TV segments.

"The global TV market — and North America in particular — are experiencing either slow or negative growth in 2012, and brands are eager to demonstrate new technologies that might create a spike in demand," noted Paul Gagnon, Director for Global TV Research at NPD DisplaySearch. Gagnon added, "OLED TV was prominently featured during the previous two CES shows as the next-generation TV display technology, but the lack of market launch so fare has caused several set makers to start emphasizing 4Kx2K resolution TVs for premium market segments."

Overall TV demand is expected to fall in 2012. Consumers worldwide are grappling with tough economic conditions, and TV prices are falling at only marginal rates. The LCD TV forecast for 2012 was reduced slightly to 205 million, slightly lower than in 2011. In addition, plasma TV shipments are projected to fall 24 percent year-over-year to 13 million. Looking forward, the market is expected to be flat in 2013 on persistent economic uncertainty before entering a period of gradual growth as conditions improve and as price declines in the TV market accelerate.

SEMI reported the worldwide PV manufacturing equipment billings and bookings for the 3^rd quarter of 2012. Worldwide booking remained essentially flat in the 3^rd quarter when compared to the previous quarter. The $235 million in bookings is 56 percent below the 3^rd quarter of 2011. Worldwide billings declined to $609 million, down 13 percent from the previous quarter and 60 percent below the same quarter one year ago. While the book-to-bill ratio remained below partly for the sixth consecutive quarter, the ratio did improve to 0.38 given the flat bookings and the decline in billings.

The worldwide PV equipment billings and bookings data is gathered jointly with the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) from about 50 global equipment companies that provide primary data on a quarterly basis.

After a disastrous 3^rd quarter of 2012 featuring extremely low factory utilization rates across the entire photovoltaic (PV) supply chain, surge in demand was seen in the final quarter of the year for PV modules. A new PV module shipment record of 11 gigawatts (GW) was reached in the 4^th quarter according to the IHS Solar Integrated Market Tracker from information and analytics provider IHS. Despite this positive sign the situation of the global PV industry remains critical and a substantial recovery of the supply-demand balance is not expected to occur before the second half of 2013.

The 3^rd quarter of 2012 dealt another blow to the global photovoltaic industry. After a relatively strong 2^nd quarter resulting in global installations of 7.8 GW, markets softened again. "Installations in the 3^rd quarter amounted to just 7.5 GW. Wholesalers, EPCs and PV suppliers were forced to carefully control their inventory levels due to falling prices and low shipment levels and production cuts were the consequences," commented Principal Analyst Stefan de Haan. In the 3^rd quarter of 2012, average module capacity utilization fell to 49 percent, cell capacity utilization to 56 percent, wafer capacity utilization to a record-low 55 percent, and polysilicon capacity utilization to 63 percent. In parallel, prices continued their slide in the 3^rd quarter of 2012 resulting in module industry revenues of only $6.0 billion — the lowest value since the 2^nd quarter of 2009. These difficult conditions were reflected in an increasing number of suppliers exiting the market.

"In the 4^th quarter of 2012 global PV markets rebounded sharply. Very strong demand from Asia, with the surge driven by China and Japan, helped to compensate for sluggish demand in Europe. IHS estimates that global PV installations were 10.1 GW in the 4^th quarter of 2012. In particulate leading Chines module suppliers benefited from the uptick in demand and shipped much more than previously expected," explained de Haan. In total, 11.0 GW of global module shipments are estimated for the 4^th quarter of 2012 —a new record for the industry. As anticipated by IHS, average market pricing for crystalline modules declined to $0.65 per watt at the end of 2012, down from $0.70 at the end of September. Importantly, however, the price decline lost momentum in the course of the 4^th quarter. Towards the end of the year some module prices even increased. Record-level shipments paired with stabilizing prices drove a profound recovery of revenues. According to the IHS Solar Integrated market Tracker, 4^th quarter 2012 module revenues grew by a stunning 42 percent quarter-over-quarter, reaching $8.5 billion.

In the 1^st quarter of 2013 suppliers are predicted to experience the usual seasonal weakness of global solar markets. Global PV installations are forecast to drop to 6.7 GW in this quarter. As a result upstream shipments and revenues will temporarily come under pressure again. With prices forecast to decrease by another 4-5 percent in the 1^st quarter of 2012 (compared to the 4^th quarter of 2012), module revenues will fall back to the critical levels of the 3^rd quarter of 2012 — or even below. This will force more suppliers to review their business models and eventually leave the solar market.

After a tough 1^st quarter, a substantial increase in global demand is forecast to drive increasing revenues and stabilizing prices in the second half of 2013. IHS forecasts 35 GW of global installations in 2013, up 10 percent over 2012. Although this level of growth is lower than previous years, it will drive a continuous improvement of shipments and revenues in the polysilicon to module supply chain throughout 2013. Recent positive signals from authorities in several key markets like China and France raise hopes for the recovery of the PV industry to happen even faster. "While it’s too early to give the all-clear for the PV supplier industry, there is increasing indication that the year 2013 will mark the turnaround," concluded de Haan.

Amid rapidly-falling prices, mounting losses and massive operational costs, the upstream solar photovoltaic (PV) supply chain is undergoing major consolidation, with the number of companies participating in the market expected to plunge by 70 percent this year.

Worldwide, the total number of companies participating directly in the manufacturing of PV solar panels, from polysilicon manufacturing through module assembly, is set to fall to approximately 150 in 2013, down from about 500 in 2012, according to the IHS Solar service at information and analytics provider IHS. This compares to about a 650 in 2011 and 750 in 2010.

"It would be a major understatement to say that consolidation is occurring in the PV supply chain this year," said Mike Sheppard, Senior Photovoltaics Analyst with IHS, "Most upstream PV supply operations will simply cease to exist, rather than being acquired by other companies. Most of these suppliers actually have already stopped production — and will never restart."

Companies at the highest risk of going out of business in 2013 include integrated suppliers that manufacture PV polysilicon, ingots, wafers and cells to offer complete solutions. Second- and third-tier suppliers of crystalline silicon (c-Si) polysilicon, ingots, wafers and cells also will struggle to stay afloat. Finally, smaller thin-film cell providers likewise will face low sales and limited market sizes, putting them on the endangered list.

Many integrated players will fold up shop in 2013 as the large expense of building integrated facilities — and then seeing them underutilized for the better part of a year — will prove to be financially unsustainable. Many of these players are based in China. Government subsidies could be an option to keep integrated suppliers operating. However, while IHS believes that some supplier may be propped up by the Chinese government in 2013, the majority will dissolve.

With price declines still occurring across the board in 2013, low-cost players will get the lion’s share of the global market. Upstream second- and third-tier suppliers of polysilicon, ingots, wafers and cells will struggle to survive the year in markets that do not have local-content requirements. Many of these companies will not be able to float operations for a very long period of time.

For second-tier module manufacturers, the key to surviving in 2013 will be establishing and maintaining strong relationships with downstream players in the emerging markets. Second-tier manufacturers must move faster than those in the top tier in order to grab mindshare early.

Flexible business models, with consistent outsourcing, will be needed to succeed. Because contract manufacturers require certain levels of business to remain profitable, securing stable relationships with these companies is also critical for second-tier module manufactures.

Second-tier module makes also must be flexible enough to capitalize on the volatility in high-growth markets, which consist mostly of small- and mid-sized engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies. These companies initially have less allegiance to established top-tier manufacturers. But as their experience in this area grows, price becomes a primary factory, favoring low-cost producers. This is already true in markets like India, and is becoming a factor in Latin American countries such as Chile.