The impact of the crisis on ICTs and their role in the recovery

• OECD Directorate of Science, Technology and Industry
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

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30 July 2009A sudden upturn in global sales of information and communications technology (ICT) goods in May and June suggests the ICT industry may have reached a turning point and be on the road to recovery, according to this OECD report. 

Most countries posted positive month-on-month production growth in May and June and inventories have been run down sharply after historically rapid build-ups.  Billings for semiconductor makers, a bellwether for the ICT industry, are rebounding sharply after a severe collapse in orders reminiscent of the 2001-2002 dotcom bust.  Asian ICT exports are also growing again month-to-month: Korean producers have been helped by a weaker currency, with production in May down only 3% on the previous year, and Chinese ICT production, which has remained remarkably resilient despite exports dropping by over 20 percent, grew at nearly 3% year-on-year in May. 

The economic crisis has battered the ICT industry over the past year, the report says.  Production plunged by as much as 40 percent on an annual basis in Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei and other Asian economies in early 2009 as exports collapsed