The infamously cyclical semiconductor industry had a challenging year in 2023, the seventh downturn since 1990, with sales expected to be down 9.4% (to US$520 billion) for the year.1But that’s not as bad as was expected in the spring; before relatively stronger second and third quarters were in the books, the previous forecast had been for US$515 billion.22024 is now predicted to see global sales of US$588 billion.3Not only would that be 13% better than 2023, but it’s 2.5% higher than 2022’s record industry revenues of US$574 billion.