SIA still predicts chip growth in Q4, but August sales plunge
Asia-Pacific region registers 2% increase in month from July revenues
Semiconductor Business News
(10/01/01 10:37 a.m. EST)
SAN JOSE -- How bad was it? Worldwide chip sales in August were 42% lower than the same month last year, according to new data released today by the Semiconductor Industry Association. One small piece of good news, however: Asia-Pacific chip sales actually grew 2% in August from July, according to the SIA report.
On a month-to-month basis, worldwide chip sales sequentially dropped 3.4% to $10.49 billion in August from July's $10.86 billion, said the SIA, which uses a three-month moving average.
The San Jose-based trade group noted that while August was another down month in terms of worldwide chip, the rate of decline was "an improvement" from the drop of 6.1% in July compared to June.
"The reduced sales level continues to reflect the slow economic activity in the world's major economies combined with excess inventories in the information technology market," said George Scalise, president of the SIA. "Consumption continues to deplete remaining inventories throughout the supply chain, and we believe that the inventory correction will be largely completed by the close of the September quarter."
The SIA continues to believe it will see sequential sales growth starting in the final three months of 2001, Scalise said. "The tragic events of Sept. 11 [terrorist attacks in the U.S.] may slightly dampen sales for the month of September due to short-term logistical issues," he said, but the SIA believes "traditional holiday sales of personal computers, communications products and a variety of hand held devices will accelerate year-end demand for a broad range of semiconductors."
Using a three-month moving average, the SIA's sales report shows chip revenues in the Americas plunged 55.3% to just $2.61 billion in August compared to $5.84 billion in August 2000. Sequentially, chip sales in the Americas fell 3.3% in August from $2.70 billion in July.
In Japan, semiconductor revenues dropped 36.3% to $2.58 billion in August from $4.05 billion in the same month last year, according to the SIA. On a month-to-month basis, Japan's chip sales were down 7.1% in August from $2.78 billion.
The Asia-Pacific semiconductor market--the world's largest--sales dropped 31.7% to $3.17 billion in August from $4.64 billion in the month last year, but the region saw chip revenues nudge up 2% from $3.11 billion in July.
Europe's semiconductor sales dropped 40% to $2.13 billion in August compared to $3.55 billion in August 2000. Sequentially, Europe's chip sales in August were down 6.2% from $2.27 in July. |
