To: BillyG who wrote (20620 ) 1/11/1999 7:41:00 PM From: Nevin S. Respond to of 25960
Nice article BillyG.. Has anyone seen or posted this from TechWeb...techweb.com Chip Sales Surge 5 Percent In November (01/08/99, 6:54 p.m. ET) By Will Wade , Semiconductor Business News The semiconductor industry saw chip sales jump 4.8 percent from October to November, the Semiconductor Industry Association said in San Jose, Calif., Friday. Total sales reached $11.39 billion, the highest overall monthly figure since December 1997. Despite the strong showing, chip sales are still down significantly from a year ago. The SIA reported total silicon sales of $12.11 billion in November 1997, which was 6.0 percent higher than in the most current report. However, the monthly gain was the largest percentage increase since November 1990. SIA president George Scalise said November represents the third consecutive month of rising chip sales, reversing the sharp downturn that bottomed out last July. He added that the November figures had surpassed the trade group's expectations, and pointed to a stronger close for what has been described as one of the industry's worst years on record. A rising yen helped boost the total Japanese figures, and the country posted a 7.0 percent increase over October's figures to reach $2.23 billion. The rest of the Asia-Pacific region also saw a rally of 4.8 percent to $2.64 billion, although overall the region was down 3.6 from November 1997. Still mired in recession, the Japanese chip market was down 15.5 percent from the year-ago total. The strongest showing came from Europe, where sales climbed 7.3 percent in November to $2.77 billion. The SIA attributed the gains to optimism over the continent's new single-currency system, which led to higher capital spending and an overall stronger economy. Europe was the only region to show a boost over the year-ago sales figure, rising 2.9 percent from November 1997. The Americas market continued a steady increase by inching forward 1.9 percent to reach $3.67 billion, but was still down 7.3 percent from the previous year. The SIA figures represent a three-month rolling average, calculated by the World Semiconductor Trade Association