European semiconductor demand ‘declining’
Sales of semiconductors through European distributors declined by 3.8% in the third quarter of 2005. According to DMASS – Distributors’ and Manufacturers’ Association of Semiconductor Specialists – its members reported quarterly revenues of €1.31billion, 0.6% less than the same period in 2006. In the UK sales of €127million were 18.5% down compared to Q3 of 2006.
DMASS chairman Ian Bass noted: “The main reasons for the slowdown are the ongoing dollar weakness and the subsequent pressure on equipment export; the broad technology inventory correction over the last few quarters; and, finally, the massive component price differences to Asia, which has encouraged a lot of grey market activity.”
From a product perspective, the only segment to report growth was discrete components, with all other sectors showing slight declines. However, sales of microprocessors, programmable logic and other logic showed ‘double digit’ declines.
In a more general observation, Bass added: “The more important question is how Europe overall will shed its image as a mature electronics market and develop dynamics around its core competencies of industrial, automotive and, increasingly, environmental technology. There is more development going on in these fields than anywhere else in the world.”
