Faster Chip Growth Likely, Trade Group Says

On the heels of generous first-quarter results for chipmakers, the leading semiconductor trade group said Monday it will soon hike its forecast for 2004 growth to over 20%.

Critically, the Semiconductor Industry Association said one of the "leading drivers" of growth is that companies are spending increasing amounts of money on information technology. Faster corporate spending is necessary to fuel a recovery that has until recently been led by consumers.

In the first quarter, corporate spending on IT software and hardware posted a third-straight quarter of double-digit growth, up 11.5%, according to government figures. The shift will likely prompt industry pundits to nudge their chip sales outlook higher. ...