Global semiconductor sales rise 17 percent QoQ

SAN JOSE, USA: Worldwide sales of semiconductors for the second quarter of 2009 were $51.7 billion, a 17 percent increase from the first quarter when sales were $44.2 billion, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported today.Source: SIA

Second-quarter sales declined by 20 percent from the $64.7 billion recorded in the like period of 2008. Worldwide sales in June were $17.2 billion, an increase of 3.7 percent from May when sales were $16.6 billion, but 20 percent lower than the $21.6 billion reported for June 2008.

Year-to-date sales of $95.9 billion were 25 percent below the first six months of 2008, when sales were $127.5 billion. All monthly sales numbers represent a three-month moving average of global semiconductor sales.

“The fourth-consecutive monthly increase in sales is one indicator the industry is returning to normal seasonal growth patterns,” said SIA President George Scalise.

Scalise said focused supply chain management by both producers and customers helped to moderate the impact of the global economic recession on the industry. “Inventories have been closely managed, encouraging us to believe that the sequential increase in quarterly sales represents a gradual recovery of demand.”

Scalise noted that industry analysts have recently become more optimistic in their forecasts for key demand drivers.

"Consensus estimates for unit sales of PCs are now in the range of minus 5 percent to flat compared to 2008, whereas earlier forecasts were projecting year-on-year unit declines of 9 to 12 percent. In cell phone handsets, analysts now believe the unit decline will be in the range of 7 to 9 percent compared to earlier forecasts of a decline of around 15 percent. PCs and cell phones account for nearly 60 percent of worldwide semiconductor consumption," said Scalise.

Economic stimulus programs in China, including incentives for purchasing consumer products and investment in 3G/TDSCDMA communications infrastructure, have helped drive semiconductor sales in the world’s largest chip market.

“The global macroeconomic environment remains the key factor in determining the timing and rate of recovery for the semiconductor industry,” Scalise concluded.