Americas' chip sales slide continues, say SIA stats
By Peter Clarke
Semiconductor Business News
08/05/2003, 7:26 AM ET
siliconstrategies.com
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Unaveraged sales numbers from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) show the worldwide chip market doing less well in June 2003 than the numbers it promulgates, which are based on three-month rolling averages.
The 'raw' numbers also showed that in June, and for the seventh month in succession, chip sales in the Americas region were down on the equivalent month a year before. This has helped Americas region sales in the first half of 2003 fall to half those of the Asia-Pacific region in the same period.
Chip sales in the '5-week' month of June were $14.54 billion, higher than the $12.54 billion three-month average put out by the SIA on Monday (see August 4 story), however the month's market was up 9.5 percent on the same month a year before in contrast to the 10.4 percent rise that the averaged numbers yield.
June's numbers were also below the trend set in the earlier part of the year. The market value for the period of January to May 2003 is $59.52 billion, 12.3 percent ahead of the same period in 2002, according to the SIA's actual numbers (see July 1 story).
The SIA constructs its 'Global Sales Report' as three-month moving averages of monthly sales activity to smooth variations due to companies' sales reporting calendars, which often follow a 4-4-5 weeks-in-the-month pattern, thereby inflating March, June, September and December numbers.
The raw numbers show that a chip sales recovery is happening everywhere but in the Americas region.
In contrast to Asia-Pacific and Japan, in the Americas region sales have been down on the same month a year before throughout 2003.
In the first half of 2003 sales for the Americas, at $14.68 billion, are 5.8 percent lower than they were in the first half of 2002. In Europe first half 2003 sales were $14.77 billion up 11.8 percent on a year before, although when reported in euros the sales figures are down. In Japan first half sales were $16.90 billion up 12.4 percent on a year before. And in the Asia-Pacific region sales in the first half of 2003 were $27.12 billion up 14.0 percent, according to the SIA's numbers. |
