Chip sales moving back to normal 17% growth in Q1, says SIA
November revenues fell 2% from October, but remained 28.4% higher than a year ago
By J. Robert Lineback
Semiconductor Business News
(01/03/01 09:15 a.m. EST)
SAN JOSE -- Worldwide chip sales are heading back to normal annual growth rates of 17% in the first quarter of 2001 after increasing 37.1% in 2000, said George Scalise, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association. The U.S. trade group president today insisted that the outlook for semiconductor markets remains strong despite a slowdown in growth that began in September when major chip customers started delaying orders to clear out their inventories.
The SIA today reported that November chip sales increased by 28.4% to $18.28 billion compared to $14.24 billion in the month during 1999. The increase in sales, based on a three-month moving average, was the slowest rate yet for 2000. Monthly growth rates peaked in August at 52.7%.
Underscoring the slowdown, the SIA Global Sales Report said semiconductor revenues dropped 2% in November from October's $18.66.
Chip sales in Japan recorded the strongest increase among regions in November, rising 38.9% to $4.43 billion from $3.19 billion in November 1999, said the SIA. Japan's chip revenues were sequentially up 1.7% from $4.36 billion in October, based on the three-month sales average.
Semiconductor sales in the Americas grew 30% to $5.60 billion in November vs. $4.31 billion in the previous year, but revenues dropped 5.0% from $5.90 billion in October, the SIA reported. European chip sales rose 24.1% to $3.81 billion in November compared to $3.07 billion in November 1999, and they were up just 0.1% from $3.80 billion in October, according to the monthly report.
Uncharacteristically, the Asia Pacific chip market lagged the rest of the world in growth during November, increasing just 20.9% to $4.44 billion vs. $3.67 billion in the same month during 1999. The SIA report said chip sales dropped 3.5% in November from $4.60 billion in October, based on a three-month moving average.
However, the SIA isn't panicking. "We expect to approach our historic 17% compound annual growth rate in the first quarter of 2001," stated Scalise, who also said the chip industry remained on track in November to reach the SIA's projection of $205 billion in sales during 2000. The SIA has predicted that worldwide chip sales will grow 22% to 249 billion in 2001 (see Nov. 1 story).
The San Jose-based trade group said semiconductor product sectors experiencing strong growth in November included flash memory, standard cell, and communication-specific ICs. Sales of these products were fueled by shipments of mobile phones, Internet infrastructure equipment, personal digital assistants (PDAs), as well as other communications and consumer products, said the SIA.
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