中國需求放緩將令芯片業走低

Microchip Technology isn't the biggest chipmaker in the world, but a warning from Steve Sanghi, its chief executive, has rattled the rest of the industry.

美國微芯公司(Microchip Technology)並非全球最大芯片製造商，但該公司首席執行官史蒂夫•桑吉(Steve Sanghi)發出的警告，令該行業其他企業感到恐慌。

The company, which is worth $8bn, said on Friday that demand in the industry was on the cusp of a correction led weaker appetite in China. Mr Sanghi said:

這家市值80億美元的公司週五表示，在中國需求放緩的帶動下，全球芯片行業需求將開始出現修正。

We believe that another industry correction has begun and that this correction will be seen more broadly across the industry in the near future.

桑吉表示：“我們認爲，另一輪行業性修正已開始，近期行業性修正的規模將更爲廣泛。”

The forecast from Microchip came alongside sales figures which fell short of Wall Street's forecasts.

在微芯公司做出此番預測之際，芯片行業銷售數據未達到華爾街預期。

Analysts at Credit Suisse said Microchip is historically an "extremely good industry barometer" for its short lead-times and diversified client base.

瑞信(Credit Suisse)分析師表示，由於生產週期短以及客戶基礎多樣，微芯一直是一個“非常不錯的行業晴雨表”。

This event is NOT company-specific and has NEGATIVE implications for the sector. In addition, while the line between excess supply and disappointing demand is always blurred, the rapid pace of decline would argue a demand shock.

此次事件並非僅影響個別企業，對於整個行業都會造成負面影響。另外，儘管供應過剩以及需求疲弱的界限總是很模糊，但此番銷量下滑速度之快證明了需求受到巨大沖擊。

Microchip last pre-announced weaker results in the second quarter of 2011, Citi analysts add, just ahead of an industry downturn.

花旗(Citi)分析師補充稱，微芯上一次預測業績下滑是在2011年第二季度，恰恰就在該行業出現低迷之前。

Shares of Microchip tumbled 11 per cent to $40.49. Rival Intel declined 4 per cent to $32.31, Advanced Micro Devices fell 4 per cent to $2.83 and Nvidia slipped 4 per cent to $17.22.

微芯股價下挫11%至40.49美元。競爭對手英特爾(Intel)股價下滑4%，至32.31美元，Advanced Micro Devices下跌4%至2.83美元，英偉達(Nvidia)下跌4%至17.22美元。