Chip sales see slight rebound in March
John Walko
EE Times Europe
05/01/2009 11:39 AM
LONDON — Global sales of semiconductors were $14.7 billion in March, up 3.3 percent from February 2009, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). Year-on-year sales came in at 29.9 percent down on the corresponding month of 2008.
Sales for the first quarter of 2009 amounted to $44.0 billion, a 29.9 percent decline from the first quarter of 2008 when sales were $62.8 billion. Sales declined by 15.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2008 when sales were $52.2 billion.
The figures are based on statistics gathered by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization.
All regions except Japan showed month-on-month gains. Sales in Japan, at $2.52 billion were down 9.4 percent, while the Americas was up 5.1 percent to $ 2.58 billion, Europe up 3.1 percent to $2.18 billion, and the Asia Pacific region up 7.8 percent to $7.38 billion.
Expressed as three-month-moving-average, sales globally were down 15.7 percent, with Japan, again, faring the worst, down 32.5 from the average achieved for the period October to December.
Europe was lower by 14.4 percent, the Americas off 4.1 percent, with the Asia Pacific region down 12.3 percent.
"The modest sequential rebound in worldwide sales in March suggests that demand has stabilized somewhat, albeit at substantially lower levels than last year," commented SIA President George Scalise. "While all major product sectors showed month-on-month growth, there continues to be limited visibility in end markets.
"There are some bright spots such as smart phones and netbook PCs, but there are no clear signs of early firming of demand in other major end markets such as automotive, corporate information technology, and consumer electronics."
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