Semi sales grow, but outlook limited

Describing the boost in sales as 'better than expected', SIA president George Scalise said the increase had been driven by moderate improvements in a number of end demand drivers and by inventory replenishment. "The pc market – a major consumer of semiconductors – has been stronger than predicted earlier in the year. Consensus forecasts currently project that pc unit sales in 2009 will decline by about 6% compared to earlier forecasts of a decline in the range of 12%. Analysts are also more optimistic about cell phone unit sales, which are now projected to decline by around 7%, compared to earlier forecasts of 15%." Scalise pointed out that pcs and cell phones account for nearly 60% of all semiconductor consumption. Meanwhile, while demand from the automotive sector remains weak, the consumer electronics sector is mixed: although sales of digital tvs and hand held game players are predicted to grow, most other consumer electronics products are expected to see sales decline. "Visibility remains limited," Scalise continued. "Two consecutive months of sequential sales growth may be an indication of a return to more normal seasonal sales patterns in some market sectors, albeit at lower sales levels than last year."