European chip sales continued growth increases above world levels in September

BRUSSELS, BElGIUM: European sales of semiconductors grew above the worldwide average in September compared with the previous month on a three month rolling average basis, the WSTS reported.

Chip sales in Europe reached $3.258 billion in September, an increase of 3.9 percent from the $3.137 billion reported in August. If the comparison is made with the levels reported for September 2009, the increase was of 24.4 percent. Third-quarter sales were up by 5 percent from the second quarter, totaling $9.774 billion.

Global semiconductor sales were also strong in September across all regions, with in particular China growing by 5.1 percent. This trend is in line with seasonal patterns.

The September numbers show strong demand across most major product lines, with in especially good performances for discrete, optoelectronics and MOS microprocessor. Sales for memories show moderate growth, driven essentially by flash memories.

On a YTD basis semiconductor sales increase lowered slightly further to 34.5 percent in 2010 versus the same period in the year 2009.

The exchange rate of the Euro compared to the US dollar has widened its impact but slightly on the European sales picture in the last month. Measured in Euro, semiconductor sales were 2.525 billion Euros in September 2010, up 1.4 percent on the previous month and up 38 percent versus the same month a year ago. On a YTD basis, semiconductor sales increased by 40.3 percent in 2010 versus the same period in the year 2009.

On a worldwide basis, semiconductor sales in September 2010 were $ 26.462 billion, up 2.9 percent versus the previous month. This results in an increase of 26.2 percent versus the same month in 2009 and on a YTD basis it results in an increase of 40.9 percent.

Market data by regionSource: European Semiconductor Industry Association.