Chip sales up again
Published: 30 Jun 2003 13:49 BST
Global chip sales posted a third consecutive monthly increase in May, the Semiconductor Industry Association reported on Monday.
Worldwide chip sales totalled $12.5bn (£7.57bn) in May 2003 -- up 2 percent from the $12.26bn in revenue reported in April 2003 and a nearly 10 percent increase from May 2002.
The SIA also maintained its outlook for demand in the second half of the year as wartime anxiety subsided and as health organisations worldwide brought under control the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), which had hit Asian economies especially hard. Other researchers also have expressed optimism for the semiconductor market this year.
"SIA's forecast growth of 10.1 percent for the year 2003 is on track, with this up-tick in May," SIA President George Scalise said in a statement. "As Sars and the geopolitical issues come under control, we expect to see demand in all geographic sectors, especially China, strengthen in the second half of the year."
Sales of programmable-logic and standard-cell chips rose 8.6 percent in May, pointing to signs of life in telecom spending. Flash memory -- used in digital cameras, music players and other handheld devices -- increased 4.4 percent.
Chip sales in Japan rose 26 percent year over year, the Asia-Pacific region was up 11.7 percent, and Europe gained 9.3 percent. Sales in the Americas, however, declined 6.7 percent, reflecting the continued outsourcing of the production of electronic equipment and components to Asia.
In a forecast released earlier in June, the SIA projected that worldwide sales of semiconductors would increase 10.1 percent this year, 16.8 next year, 5.8 percent in 2005, and 7 percent in 2006. The SIA said it expects industry sales to grow from $141bn last year to $205bn in 2006.
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