SIA reports April chip sales grew by 2.2 percent MoM

SAN JOSE, USA: The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today reported that worldwide semiconductor sales in April were $23.6 billion, an increase of 2.2 percent from March when sales were $23.1 billion.Sales increased by 50.4 percent from April 2009 when sales were $15.7 billion. Sales for the first four months of 2010 were $92.6 billion compared to $60.1 billion for the like period of 2009, an increase of 54.2 percent. All monthly sales numbers represent a three-month moving average.

“Global sales of semiconductors grew at a healthy rate in April, surpassing the previous monthly record level of November 2007,” said SIA President George Scalise. “As expected, both the year-on-year and sequential growth rates moderated slightly. The unusually high year-on-year comparison is a reflection of the trough of the recession in early 2009 compared to strong demand today.

“Important contributors to current growth of semiconductor sales include the worldwide adoption of 3G wireless communications and consequent investment in infrastructure and recovery of demand from the enterprise, automotive, and industrial sectors.

“Going forward, we expect semiconductor sales will return to historical seasonal patterns. Future growth of the industry remains heavily dependent on the continued global economic recovery, and in particular, on continued growth in the developing markets that are the largest demand drivers for our products,” Scalise concluded.

SIA will release its mid-year forecast on June 10.