EL SEGUNDO, CA — Intel Corp. experienced a dramatic decline in semiconductor revenue in the second quarter and posted its lowest quarterly market share in more than four years, according to a new ranking from iSuppli Corp.

Following an increase in its revenue and market share in 2005, the world’s largest chipmaker in the second quarter saw its semiconductor revenue fall 12.8% sequentially and its share of the global chip market shrink to 11.4%, down from 13.2% in the first quarter.

That is the lowest share for Intel since iSuppli began tracking quarterly semiconductor market shares in the first quarter 2002.

“Following such an impressive 2005, this represents a major reversal of fortune for Intel,” said Dale Ford, vice president of market intelligence services at iSuppli. “However, Intel’s recent actions show it understands the need to improve its efficiency and sharpen its focus on its core business of microprocessors and integrated circuits for computing systems.”

Top-10 Semiconductor Suppliers, Q2 2006 (in US$ millions)
                Q2 2006 Revenue    %Change   
1. Intel                7,095                    -12.4%
2. Samsung      4,481                1.5%
3. TI                     3,175                    5.2%
4 . STM                2,495                    5.6%
5. Toshiba        2,328                    0.5%
6 . Renesas       2,081                     6.0%
7 . Hynix             1,694                    17.1%
8 . Philips             1,534                    4.4%
9 . Freescale        1,527                4.2%
10. NEC             1,380                     -0.4%
Others             34,462                     2.9%

AMSTERDAM -- Greenpeace wants electronics companies to clean up their acts.

The activist environmental protection organization this week released its study of the "green credentials" of the top electronics OEMs. Ranked on their use of toxic chemicals and electronic waste (e-waste) policies, Dell and Nokia scored highest -- albeit  a "barely respectable" 7 out of 10 -- while Apple, Motorola and Lenovo finished at the bottom of the class. The average score for the 14 companies reviewed was 4 of 10.

JACKSON, MI -- EMS firm Sparton Corp. reported net sales of $50.5 million for its fourth quarter ended June 30, up 9.6% over last year. Net income fell 95% to $468,000 from $4.94 million last year.

BEIJING -- The Chinese government ordered Foxconn's Shenzhen EMS site to create a union for workers this year, according to the Beijing News today.

Shenzhen officials have reportedly told Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry, the local name of the Foxconn plant, to set up a union by the end of this year, the paper said.


  

CHICAGO -- In its annual world outlook for commercial airplanes, Boeing predicts a 6.1% annual increase in air cargo traffic over the next 20 years. Coupled with higher fuel costs, that suggests cargo rates will continue to fly higher in coming years.

The world's largest maker of planes also predicts passenger traffic to increase 4.9% a year through 2025.

The company said worldwide air freighter fleet will nearly double over the next 20 years to 3,560 airplanes, from 1,790.