Chip sales flat, memory sales rise

NEW YORK: Global sales of semiconductors in February stayed at the January

level of $10 billion, with sales of DRAM memory chips rising 24 per cent as a

result of higher average prices, according to data from the Semiconductor

Industry Association.

With market conditions still weaker than in the year-ago boom, the February

numbers were still off 35 per cent from January 2001 sales of $15.5 billion, the

industry association said.

"Flat to slow growth of semiconductor sales in the first quarter of this

year is in line with expectations," SIA President George Scalise said in a

statement released on Friday. "Our forecast calls for the second quarter to

be slightly stronger with accelerating growth in the second half of 2002."

Hurt by global economic weakness and sluggish demand for computers, mobile

phones and other electronics, sales of semiconductors have slumped over the last

year. Some analysts now point to potential indicators, such as renewed orders

for chip-making equipment and firming DRAM memory chip prices, that the worst

may be over.

Sales in the Americas and Asia-Pacific, which account for about 60 per cent

of global chip sales, rose 2 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively, in

February. Sales in Europe and Japan both dropped a little more than one per

cent.