According to DMASS, sales in the European semiconductor distribution market fell by 20.7% to €1.82bn.
As Georg Steinberger, chairman of DMASS explained, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe economic impact and while it started across Europe in February and March, it hit the electronics industry with full force in the second quarter.
The industry has been affected by manufacturing shutdowns, economic uncertainties among consumers and companies and lack of supply chain visibility which has caused a growing number of customers to step on the ordering brake and led to a lot of pushouts on existing orders.
At both country or regional level, there has been a double-digit decline in terms of semiconductor sales. Germany was down by 21.6%; the UK by 23.6%; while Eastern Europe saw a drop of 30.6% and the Nordic countries a fall of over 33%.
“It could have been worse, and we do not really know what will come at us in the second half of 2020 – Rally or Rafting,” said Steinberger.
There’s a lot of talk of what shape of recovery we’re likely to see from ‘V’ and ‘W’ to ‘K’ shaped , but what is true is that no one really knows what’s happening, or likely to happen, in the second half of the year.
Whatever the coming months bring 2020 is going to be a tough year.
Steinberger argues that the broader industry should take this as an opportunity to look at what’s happening and consider a major reassessment of how it operates.
I tend to agree. And, as Steinberger suggests, that shouldn't apply just to the industry itself, but to society in general.
We certainly need a better mix when it comes to the planet, people and profit, but will we actually make the changes that are required?
