SAN JOSE, CA – May 1, 2009 – Worldwide sales of semiconductors were $14.7 billion in March, a gain of 3.3 percent from the prior month when sales were $14.2 billion, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported today. 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.
Sales in all geographic regions except Japan showed month-to-month gains. Sales in Japan were sharply lower, reflecting a drop in the country’s economic output. All geographic regions reported lower first-quarter sales compared to the same period of 2008.
“The modest sequential rebound in worldwide sales in March suggests that demand has stabilized somewhat, albeit at substantially lower levels than last year,” said 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.
“The global chip industry continues to reflect the influence of the worldwide economic slowdown,” Scalise continued. “We expect economic stimulus measures in the U.S. combined with other countries will begin to impact sales as we enter 2010,” Scalise concluded.
About the SIA Global Sales Report
The SIA Global Sales Report (GSR) is a three-month moving average of sales activity. The GSR is tabulated by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization, an independent, non-profit organization established by the global semiconductor industry to compile industry statistics. The moving average is a mathematical smoothing technique that mitigates variations due to differences in companies’ financial calendars.
To view graph and table data, visit sia-online.org/cs/papers_publications/press_rel[…]