Further, Asian countries are large buyers of consumer electronics equipment which use many semiconductors within each product. A slow down in the end-market for consumer electronics invariably means a slow down in semiconductor demand and sales. The PC manufacturers and semiconductor companies are both under margin pressures to stay competitive and increase their output. The Chip Card Market Heats Up. Chip cards are used in public pay phone cards to wireless communication cards.
Chip cards act as means of security for identification, access, and payment transactions.
Chip card unit volume should continue to grow as a result of new applications and the need for more security and efficiency with financial transactions. Europe leads the world in usage and industry growth. The latest stage of the chip market is multi-application smart card. Multi-application chip cards will work with proprietary and standardized networks. However, chip demand is highly dependent on the demand for these goods.