Market research firm iSuppli has knocked Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) off its latest listing of the world''s top 10 chip manufacturers, after the chip maker has faced a year of financial and market struggles.

The company that not so long ago was battering rival Intel's flagging market and mindshare, has reported sagging numbers in the first and second quarter of this year, leaving it in iSuppli's number 11 spot.

Earlier this month, though, IC Insights, another US research firm, put AMD in its top 10 list of worldwide chip suppliers for the very first time. IC Insights called AMD's inclusion in the list a ''big shakeup''.

AMD makes it on one list and falls off another in the very same month… where does the company really stand in the industry? Analysts say that IC Insights focused on AMD''s third-quarter performance, while iSuppli is comparing the companies on a year-over-year basis.

In the third quarter of 2006, AMD hit its highest market share with 16.8 per cent of global microprocessor sales. But by the first quarter of this year, that number had dropped to 10.9 per cent. iSuppli estimates that AMD will climb to a 14.2 per cent Q4 market share this year, but that places the company exactly where it was a year ago.

Intel, on the other hand, continues to dominate the semiconductor industry. iSuppli''s latest report shows that Intel''s chip revenue is expected to rise 7.7 per cent in 2007, to hit $33.97 billion. That''s up from $31.5 billion in 2006. AMD''s sales are expected to decline by 22.7 per cent for the year. The company did not disclose the other names on the Top 10 list.

AMD grabbed a footing in the semiconductor market early this decade, at the same time as Intel stumbled under the competition and struggled between 2003 and 2005. But Intel came back strongly last year with a reorganisation that sold off several divisions and updated product lines, to grab back some of its lost market share.

For the fourth quarter of this year, iSuppli predicts that Intel will hold onto 78.8 per cent of the market, bringing in $7.24 billion in revenue. AMD is expected to bring in $1.3 billion, just short of the $1.35 billion it made in fourth quarter of 2006.

Another surprise on iSuppli''s list is Sony. The company''s semiconductor revenue is expected to rise by 56.8 per cent in 2007, the highest percentage growth of any of the top 20 semiconductor suppliers for the year.