Spring Blossoms with Optimism (Upgraded 2024 IC Forecast)

There were some major changes to our IC forecast this month. IC sales are now expected to surge nearly 24% in 2024 compared to 16% in the last update. The major driver for this significant change was Memory, where sales were upgraded to a whopping 71% from 41% in the previous update. Memory pricing has been much stronger than expected due to limited supply and improving demand. In addition, the memory forecast upgrade is now aligned with the most recent forecast from TechInsights' dedicated memory team.

Now looking at inventories, electronic OEM inventories continue to trend down with the inventory to billings ratio falling below the historical average in Q4 2023, signaling we’re back to healthy levels. Die bank inventories are coming down, however, the inventory to billings ratio remains above the historical norm though it is inching closer to that healthier level.