Etron Technology is expected to enjoy robust growth in shipments of USB 3.0 flash device controllers in 2013, which will help the company swing back to profitability, according to market watchers. The Taiwan-based IC design house stands a chance of seeing profits for the second quarter of 2013, following several quarters of losses, said the watchers.

Etron reportedly has secured orders for USB 3.0 flash device controllers from a US-based NAND flash vendor. Shipments to the new client will boost Etron's overall USB 3.0 device controller shipments to 20-30 million units in 2013, the watchers predicted.

Etron has responded by saying that USB 3.0 device controllers will be a major product line for 2013. Etron currently ships a few hundred thousand USB 3.0 device controllers monthly, and the number will expand exponentially during 2013, the company noted.

The availability of new PCs that all come with the USB 3.0 support is expected to ignite a wave of replacement in USB flash drives in 2013, Etron added.

As for USB 3.0 host controllers, Etron has cumulatively shipped more than 10 million units, the company revealed. The product line will target mainly entry-level PCs and motherboards - the market that still demands independent USB 3.0 host controllers - as well as non-PC applications such as network attacked storage (NAS) devices, routers and docking devices.

In fact, prior to the launch of Intel's Ivy Bridge processors, Etron saw its shipments of USB 3.0 host controllers reach as high as one million units per month, market watchers indicated. Etron shipped about three million USB 3.0 host controllers thus far in the second half of 2012, the watchers said.

In other news, the watchers believe that the market for USB 3.0 flash evice controllers will see fierce competition in 2013. In addition to Etron, other USB 3.0 controller suppliers including Phison Electronics, Silicon Motion and Innostor Technology also plan to put more focus on peripherals, the watchers said. If the penetration rate for USB drives with USB 3.0 rises to 30%, the market is forecast to reach about 75 million units in 2013, according to the watchers.