14 DAY TRIAL // The past few weeks have been full of rumors and reports about so-called troubles on the semiconductor market, and an actual analyst study has finally been released, one that does not paint too bleak a picture, at least for the month of October.
As end-users might know, DRAM prices have been falling, especially during November, being set to hit a proverbial bottom in Q1, 2011.
Likewise, the NAND segment hasn't been doing much better, though it did, at least, see some sort of price rebound near the end of last month.
Now, SIA (Semiconductor Industry Association) reported that October fared a little better, yielding what it calls moderation in sequential sales growth.
The total sales were flat compared to September, but 19.8% higher than those of October, 2009.
For those interested in numbers, the total revenue was of $26.3 million instead of last year's $22 million.
Added to the sales that were carried out during the previous nine months of the year, this leads to a 37% jump over 2009's $181.2 billion, to a total of $248.2 million.
"As expected, we are experiencing moderation in sequential sales growth rates in line with seasonal patterns, a trend that will likely continue through year end," said SIA President Brian Toohey.
"Future growth will be increasingly driven by demand in developing markets where rapid adoption of semiconductor end use products such as mobile devices and consumer electronics continues," Toohey added.
What remains to be seen is the performance during November and if this so-called 'moderation' is preserved or not.
It will be interesting to see how the semiconductor market progresses next year, once slates and more affordable (hopefully) solid state drives (SSDs), as well as better and more energy efficient DRAM chips (based on more advanced manufacturing processes), start to circulate through the various stores around the world.