Worldwide semiconductor sales declined 28.6 percent in January from a year ago as the global recession continued to take a bite out of the computer chip industry, an industry tracker said on Monday.
Worldwide sales of semiconductors fell to US$15.3 billion in January from US$21.5 billion a year earlier, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said. Sales in January were 11.9 percent lower than December sales of US$17.4 billion.
“Worldwide semiconductor sales in January, historically a relatively weak month for the industry, reflected a continuing erosion of consumer confidence and the effects of the global economic recession,” SIA president George Scalise said.
“Sales declined across the entire range of semiconductor products, as sales of important demand drivers such as personal computers, cellphones, automobiles and consumer items remained under pressure,” he said.
“Inventory levels are very low and there are some signs that forward visibility is improving,” he said.
The SIA said the US economic stimulus package “and measures adopted in other countries have the potential to drive future demand for semiconductors.”
The association said semiconductor sales were lower in every market in January from a year ago.
They fell 25.9 percent in the Americas to US$2.55 billion, 33.9 percent in Europe to US$2.27 billion and 30.7 percent in the Asia-Pacific region to US$10.49 billion.
Semiconductor sales in Japan dropped 21.2 percent to US$3.23 billion.
Industry trackers Gartner and the International Data Corp (IDC) last week slashed projections of global spending on information technology and said computer chip makers could be hit with an unprecedented plunge in revenue this year.
Gartner said it expected worldwide semiconductor revenue to drop 24.1 percent this year to US$194.5 billion, while IDC forecast that the semiconductor market would erode 22 percent this year after sliding 2 percent last year.
The group projected the semiconductor industry would turn around next year, growing by 7.5 percent, and gain ground annually through 2012.
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