Chip sales gain for a third month
Global semiconductor sales post another monthly increase with a 2 percent rise in May, and the outlook for the second half remains healthy, a new report says.
Worldwide chip sales totaled $12.5 billion in May 2003--up 2 percent from the $12.26 billion 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 has subsided and as health organizations worldwide have 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 uptick 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 percent next year, 5.8 percent in 2005, and 7 percent in 2006. The SIA said it expects industry sales to grow from $141 billion last year to $205 billion in 2006.