$23.1B March chip sales set record, SIA reports - 5/3/2010 - EDN http://www.edn.com/article/CA6727822.

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$23.1B March chip sales set record, SIA reports
The SIA does not see near-term issues with either excess inventories or capacity due to strong unit demand The quote from Scalise said "manufa...
Posted by: Rick Barlow
in key end markets including computing and communications.
05/04/10
By Suzanne Deffree, Managing editor, news -- EDN, 5/3/2010

With its expectations set on a double-digit 2010 sales increase for the global semiconductor industry, MORE...
the SIA (Semiconductor Industry Association) this morning reported that worldwide semiconductor
sales in March set a record for the month.

March sales of $23.1 billion showed an increase of 4.6% from February when sales were $22 billion. RELATED CONTENT BY THIS AUTHOR
Sales increased by 58.3% from March 2009 when sales were $14.6 billion.
Semi sales fell 2.4% in October, SIA reports
“Global sales of semiconductors set a new high for the month of March and were second only to the 12/01/2008
record sales reported in November 2007,” said SIA President George Scalise in a statement today.
“Healthy demand from major end markets coupled with restocking to normal inventory levels Where is the semiconductor industry going? A
panel discusses 07/28/2008
contributed to strong first-quarter growth. While we expect that 2010 sales will continue to be strong,
the year-on-year growth rate will moderate going forward, reflecting the industry recovery that began Now what: a renewed growth strategy for the
in the second half of 2009.” semiconductor industry 07/09/2009

All regions watched by the SIA showed sales growth for the month of March on a year-over-year Economists, mathematics, and where the
basis. Asia-Pacific saw the highest sales increase at 72%. The Americas was second with a 48.2% semiconductor industry is headed this year
07/30/2008
sales increase, while Japan showed a 43% increase and Europe showed a 42% increase.
The Semiconductor Industry’s Brave New World
As compared to February results, March sales were up 3.8% in Asia-Pacific, 5.6% in the Americas,
11/06/2007
4.6% in Japan, and 7.1% in Europe.

Total sales for Q1 were $69.2 billion and compared to $43.7 billion for Q1 2009. To be true, Q1 2009 MORE...
marked the low point in semiconductor sales during the global economic recession.

By region, only Asia-Pacific and Europe showed sales growth on a sequential basic for the quarter.
Asia-Pacific sales for Q1 were up 4.4% while Europe sales were up 4.8% as compared to Q4 2009.
Q1 sales for the Americas and Japan were down 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively, as compared to Q4. Server not found
Total Q1 sales were up 2.8% on a sequential basis, according to the SIA data.
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The SIA noted that supply and demand are returning to balance and that the industry is preparing to
meet coming, expected demand. Check the address for typing errors such
as ww.example.com instead of
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“Foundries and integrated device manufacturers are ramping production to bring supply into line with check your computer's netw ork
connection.
expected demand levels,” Scalise said. “We do not expect to see near-term issues with either excess If your computer or network is protected
by a firewall or proxy, make sure t hat
inventories or capacity due to strong unit demand in key end markets. Computing and Firefox is permitt ed to access the W eb.

communications, which together account for more than 60% of total demand for microchips, are
seeing healthy unit growth. PC unit sales are projected to grow in the mid- to high-teens, and handset
growth is expected to be in the high single-digit range.”

Overall, the SIA continued to maintain a “cautiously optimistic” view of the industry’s sales.
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“The current results reflect improved sales in a variety of market segments, including the enterprise
sector where recovery has been slower than in the consumer sector. Healthy economic growth in
China and growing demand for PCs and cell phones in developing economies were major
contributors to growth in the first quarter. Continued growth for the semiconductor industry is closely
tied to continuation of the global economic recovery. We remain cautiously optimistic that global
sales will show double-digit growth in 2010,” Scalise concluded.

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