Chip Sales Hit 19-Month High
(11/06/97; 2:10 p.m. EST)
By J. Robert Lineback, Semiconductor Business News
Worldwide semiconductor sales reached their highest
levels in 19 months in September, climbing to $11.797
billion, a 14.7 percent increase over $10.290 billion in
the same month last year, according to the
Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
The SIA's latest global sales report shows chip
revenues increased 1.6 percent in September,
compared with $11.607 billion in August, based on a
three-month rolling average. In the Americas,
semiconductor billings totaled $3.933 billion in
September, a 20.1 percent increase over $3.275 billion
in the same month last year, but a rise of just 1.9
percent from $3.858 billion in August.
SIA officials said the new sales figures show the 1997
semiconductor recovery gaining momentum. "The
September results are in line with the 1997-to-2000
worldwide forecast we released last week, which calls
for industry growth of 5.5 percent in 1997 and 16.8
percent in 1998," said George Scalise, SIA president.
Last week, the SIA predicted global chip sales would
reach $162.6 billion, based on a forecast by the World
Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization.
The forecast is predicated on a significant rebound in
DRAM markets. Last year, semiconductor revenues
slipped 8.6 percent to $131.9 billion. After a sluggish
start to 1997, chip sales have gained momentum and
pushed ahead of last year's totals, but the
month-to-month gains have slowed recently, causing
some analysts to worry about the coming months.
In San Jose, Calif., however, the SIA is confident that
the industry will continue to gain strength. "The 1997
recovery continues to pick up steam, thanks to continue
expansion of the personal computer market, growth of
telecommunications, and surging interest in the Internet,"
Scalise said.
Despite recent financial turmoil in Asia, the Pacific Rim
regional markets showed the strongest gains in
September over the previous year, according to the
SIA report. Asia-Pacific chip sales reached $2.677
billion in September, up 22.4 percent over $2.186
billion in September 1996, the report said. Compared
with August, the region's semiconductor revenues grew
3.9 percent in September.
In Europe, chip sales grew 15.7 percent to $2.373
billion in September, compared with $2.050 billion in
the same month last year. Compared with August,
Europe's September sales total was 4.4 percent higher.
The Japanese chip market continues to suffer, however.
The SIA report said Japan's semiconductor market
rose just 1.3 percent to $2.815 billion in September,
compared with $2.779 billion last year. Compared with
August, chip sales in Japan dropped 2.9 percent. |
