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SIA: Chip Demand Strong, Despite Memory Problems |
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Written by Mike Buetow
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Monday, 31 March 2008 |
SAN JOSE – Worldwide sales of semiconductors in February were $20.44 billion, up 1.5% year-over-year, the Semiconductor Industry Association reported today. Sales fell 4.9% sequentially, in line with normal seasonal patterns for the industry.
“Continued price attrition in DRAMs masked underlying strength in
global chip sales in February,” said SIA president George Scalise, noting that worldwide semiconductor sales, excluding memory, grew by
nearly 10% year-on-year.
DRAM revenues dropped more than 40%
year-on-year despite a 43% increase in unit shipments as average selling prices fell nearly 60%
year-over-year.
Unit shipments for all semiconductor products
rose 11.6%
year-over-year, indicating strength in the end-markets that drive demand for microchips.
“Despite a slowing U.S. economy, markets outside the US continued to
show robust growth in demand for electronic products that drive
semiconductor sales,” Scalise said.
SIA cited reports from JPMorgan and
Gartner showing strong sales of personal computers and handsets in
international markets. “The Asia-Pacific region, which includes China,
has overtaken the US as the largest market for PCs. The
Rest-of-the-World, which includes Eastern Europe, Africa and South
America, equaled the number of units sold in the US in 2007 and is
poised to surpass the US market in PC unit sales this year.”
In handsets, the growth in international markets is even more dramatic,
especially in the Asia-Pacific region. According to JPMorgan, unit
shipments of handsets in the Asia-Pacific region will reach almost 540
million units in 2008 – over three times more than the 161.6 million
units they expect will be sold in the US. |
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