Semiconductor companies concentrating in the fastest-growing areas...

Semiconductor companies concentrating in the fastest-growing areas of the industry are gaining larger shares of the global market, with Japanese companies capturing half the world’s sales, according to a Dataquest survey. While the Japanese share of the market rose to 50% from about 48% in 1987, the American share fell by about the same amount, from 39% in 1987 to 37% last year, the survey said. Dataquest also reported that worldwide growth in the industry slowed in the final three months of 1988. Annual growth was 32.9%, greater than the industry’s 22.8% growth in 1987 but less than Dataquest’s forecast of 35.8%.