14 DAY TRIAL // It appears that there are more signs of recovery in the IT industry. A new report from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) noted that worldwide sales of semiconductors were of US$18.2 billion in July, an increase of 5.3 percent from last month, when they registered US$17.2 billion. Despite the month-on-month increase, the worldwide semiconductor sales were still down on a year-on-year basis, which indicates that the market is slowly picking up but still needs some time to see a full recovery.
“The fifth-consecutive month of sequential increases in semiconductor sales reflects improving demand in the consumer sector,” said SIA President George Scalise. “Sales of consumer products such as netbook PCs and cell phones are supporting the modest recovery in demand that is now under way. Purchases of Information Technology products by the enterprise sector continue to be tempered by caution and longer replacement cycles. There is also evidence of a return to seasonal industry patterns,” Scalise concluded.
According to the report, the year-on-year rate of decline was moderated, with the first six months of 2009 seeing an average monthly decline of approximately 25 percent. Despite the increase in July over June, year-on-year sales for July were 18.2 percent lower. The report also noted that all geographic sectors recorded month-on-month increases in July, with Japan and Asia Pacific recording the highs and lows, at 7.9% and 4.3%, respectively.
Recently there have been various reports that the worldwide market is slowly picking up, after months of slow demand and slumping sales. The new SIA report only comes to confirm that the worldwide chip sales are picking up and that the industry could be heading for a much-anticipated recovery. Considering the back-to-school season, SIA is likely to report sales increase in August as well.