Semiconductor sales pick up worldwide

LONDON: The year-on-year growth in the 3-month average sales of chips worldwide has resumed, and most markets showed signs of strength in November 2009, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

In a statement, George Scalise, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association, said the 3-month average of global sales of semiconductors increased to $22.645 billion in November – a 3.7 per cent rise from October 2009, when sales were worth $21.829 billion. The sales in November 2009 were 8.5 per cent higher than the November 2008 figure of $20.87 billion.

Chip sales for the first 11 months of 2009 came to $202.1 billion, which was a drop by 13.2 per cent compared to the first 11 months of 2008, when sales the sales stood at $232.7 billion.

According to George Scalise, for the first time in 2009, the global sales of semiconductors in November 2009 were positive when compared to a year before.

The year 2009 ended with sales of many IT as well as consumer products doing better than the previous projections. Sales of personal computers continued to be strong, indicating signs of the start of a recovery of demand from the business sector.

The Semiconductor Industry Association reports figures based on the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) as a 3-month average of the actual sales numbers.