Every year at the Consumer Electronics Association’s (CEA) annual International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, NV, the organization releases new marketing data including forecasts about the future growth of the industry. According to the trade group, revenues for the electronics industry will reach $209.6 billion in 2013 – another new record and well over last years $204 billion level.
Even among participating companies in the CEA’s long-running marketing data collection program, there are often chuckles and whispered question marks about the accuracy of the aggregated forecasts. With one exception (2009), the CEA is famous for releasing optimistic growth forecasts that only go one way – up.