Samsung closes in on Intel for chip market leadership

摘要

Staying at the top of the heap in any global market category is just like managing a pro sport franchise - your days are always numbered. GM was overtaken by Toyota in vehicle sales, Apple stock prices have shot past Microsoft, and now it looks like Intel's chip manufacturing reign may be in jeopardy. According to revealing IHS iSuppli (www.ihs.com) market research of the semiconductor industry, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. in 2010 came closer to challenging Intel Corp.'s chip market leadership than any company had in more than a decade. The newly released final market share rankings for 2010 show No. 2-ranked Samsung held 9.2% share of global chip revenue, up from 7.6% in 2009. This put the South Korean electronics giant a mere 4.1 percentage points behind perennial market leader Intel of the U.S. "The rise of Samsung is one of the biggest stories of the last decade in the worldwide semiconductor market," said IHS analyst Dale Ford.