5/9...Semiconductor sales show no signs of slowdown
By Ken Popovich PC Week
Continued strong demand for semiconductors worldwide resulted in record sales of $14.96 billion in March, a nearly 34 percent increase from last year, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Semiconductor Industry Association.
With March's numbers coming on the heels of strong showings in January and February, SIA President George Scalise predicted 2000 would be "another record sales year."
"Product sectors ... that played a major role in the March sales include Flash, Digital Signal Processors, programmable logic and standard cell," Scalise said in a statement accompanying the report.
Flash memory sales posted the most dramatic increase, soaring 197.5 percent from last year. Programmable logic-chip sales increased 77.8 percent, DSP 52.8 percent, application specific MOS logic 59.5 percent and DRAM 33.4 percent.
The sales figures highlight the growth in wireless sales as well as the increasing integration of chip technology in non-traditional markets, Scalise said.
"Semiconductor products can be found in many consumer goods including cellular applications, automobiles and home appliances," he said.
Biggest growth areas
The Asia-Pacific region and Japan posted the biggest increases in sales, rising 46.1 percent and 38.4 percent, respectively, from last year. The Americas, the world's largest market, climbed 25.1 percent, while European sales grew 29.2 percent.
Looking ahead, the SIA predicted that robust semiconductor sales would continue, fueled in large part by the explosive growth of the Internet and wireless products.
By 2004, about 1.4 billion users will hook up to the Net via cell phones, according to an International Data Corp. report cited by the SIA. In addition, some 1.4 billion users will connect to the Net through wired phones, while some 600 million people worldwide will connect to the Net via PCs. |
