US corporate IT spending will plummet 10 per cent to 20 per cent in 2009, according to the latest projections from Citi Investment Research, which is reporting a "rapid deterioration" of CIO budgets in recent weeks.
The technology sector is bracing for a string of earnings downgrades over the next month as rising fuel costs and a tightening of corporate belts rein in the surging growth that listed computing and communications companies have delivered over the past six years.
Some information systems and services suppliers are already reporting a spending slowdown in key sectors such as consumer goods and transport and logistics as projects go on hold while the impact of spiralling oil prices is assessed.