14 DAY TRIAL // It appears that, despite uncertain economic conditions in Europe, the worldwide semiconductor market managed to grow during the month of July, not just year-on-year but also sequentially, by 37% and 1.2%, respectively, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.
So far this year, semiconductor sales amount to approximately $169.2 billion, a significant jump over the $115.3 billion reported for the January-July period of last year.
This corresponds to an on-year increase, for the first seven months of 2010, of no less than 46.7 percent.
During the month of July 2010, SIA reported that worldwide semiconductor sales were of $25.2 billion, a figure which is roughly 37 percent greater than the one registered during the same period of 2009.
In July last year, sales were of 'only' $18.4 billion, according to the same Industry Association.
Also, during the same month of July this year, sales were about 1.2 percent higher than those of June, when they reached $24.9 billion.
“Worldwide sales of semiconductors were strong in July despite growing indications of slower growth in the overall economy,” said SIA President Brian Toohey.
“The continued proliferation of semiconductors into a broad range of products provides opportunities for industry expansion even in a period of slower overall economic growth,” he added.
“Although recent public statements from a number of major manufacturers have emphasized limited visibility for the near-term, we continue to expect that industry growth for 2010 will be in line with our mid-year forecast of 28.4 percent,” Toohey concluded.
Basically, the overall situation on the chip market is quickly recovering after the unfortunately weak years of 2009 and, especially, 2008.
Unfortunately, the press announcement released by the Semiconductor Industry Association did not offer an outlook for the remainder of the year, but one can assume that, if not during the back-to-school period, sales should continue to grow during the holiday season.