Growth occurred in all aspects of the power management semiconductor market in 2010 to boost the industry to $31.0 billion, with more than 40 percent expansion taking place in individual areas like voltage regulators and specific transistors, according to an IHS iSuppli Power Management Share Analysis report from information and analysis provider IHS.
The largest slice of the power management semiconductor market last year was held by metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFET), devices used for switching electronic signals, with 21 percent of the space. Running close behind, at 20 percent, were application-specific integrated circuits and application-specific standard products related to power management. Switching regulators claimed third place with 16 percent, with linear regulators and insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT) at 10 percent each.
The rest of the market was split up into single-digit shares among rectifiers and power diodes, bipolar transistors, voltage reference devices, power management interfaces and thyristors. In all, the $31.0 billion revenue for the power management market was up 41 percent from the earlier year.
The name of the game in 2010 was “capacity.” Given the prevailing conditions of high demand last year, those who had access to big capacity—predominantly the key players in the market—ended up reaping the greatest success. Volume was the ticket to capacity, and also was the passage for gaining access to the top rungs of the market, IHS believes. The market for power management semiconductors comprises products specifically geared for the conversion, distribution and management of power in electronic systems.
A notable growth market during 2010 was in IGBTs, which expanded 56 percent in 2010 to $3.0 billion, up from $1.9 billion in 2009. The main driver was the improvement of infrastructure especially in China, with a trend toward environmentally friendly sources of energy like solar, wind, hybrid and electric vehicles.
Among companies, Texas Instruments Inc. remained at the top, increasing revenue organically by adding product lines like light-emitting diode (LED) drivers, as well as ultra-low-power voltage regulator integrated circuits for portable applications. TI power management revenue in 2010 amounted to $2.5 billion, up 46 percent from the earlier year.
Two new entries to the Top 10 in 2010 were International Rectifier Corp. from southern California and Renesas Electronics Corp. of Japan. IR reached the Top 10 after a three-year absence, but it was the supplier with the highest organic growth in 2010 at 58 percent—well above the company industry average at 41 percent. For its part, Renesas made the cut by acquiring the semiconductor division of fellow Japanese player NEC Corp.
Together, the Top 20 suppliers increased their total share of market in 2010 to 70 percent, up from 67 percent in 2009. And for the first time in six years, North American suppliers gained hard-won share at the expense of their Asian peers, managing the feat by increasing its portion of market from 41 to 42 percent.
Power management suppliers are now trying to make a sharp turn from producing consumer-type semiconductors to high-value devices. By improving the mix of products for various markets, suppliers hope to become less vulnerable to fluctuations in demand and to economic shifts within the industry.
Such a strategy, however, must be thought out properly, IHS affirms, especially because the high-value market for power management semiconductors is much smaller than that for the consumer-type sectors. Moreover, with everyone embarking on the same voyage, there won’t be enough room for everyone to navigate successfully.
Learn More > Stormy 2010 Changes Power Management Semiconductor Landscape