Chip industry posts another record month, SIA reports
By Colleen Taylor -- EDN, January 2, 2007
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today reported that global sales of semiconductors reached $22.7 billion in November 2006, an increase of 11.3 percent from the $20.4 billion sold in November 2005.
Sales increased by a lower, but still notable 3.1 percent from the $22 billion reported in October.
According to SIA, the November figure was the fifth consecutive month of record sales. For the first 11 months of 2006, worldwide semiconductor sales totaled $225.1 billion, an increase of 9.4 percent from the like period of 2005, when sales were $205.7 billion.
The industry group said consumer applications continued to drive demand of microchip sales in November. The group cited research by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which indicated unit sales of consumer electronic products such as flat-panel displays and digital cameras as ahead of forecasts in the holiday season, which SIA said resulted in strong revenue growth despite some erosion in the average selling price for some products. The CEA reported that November unit sales of digital cameras in the U.S. market were up 30 percent over November 2005 and up over 40 percent for the first 11 months of 2006.
Semiconductor product lines that showed strong sequential growth included DSPs, up 12.3 percent; DRAMs up 6.8 percent; NAND flash up 6.3 percent; and microprocessors, up 4.3 percent, SIA data showed.
"Despite some signs of slower economic growth in the fourth quarter, consumer purchases of electronic products remained strong and again drove semiconductor sales to record levels," SIA President George Scalise said in a statement. "The latest Conference Board survey of consumer confidence reflected increasing optimism. An improving job market and indications of healthy economic growth going forward should contribute to stronger demand for semiconductor products which are increasingly driven by consumer electronic purchases.
"Inventories are in line with current demand in most major product segments, and there are even signs of tight supplies in some memory products," Scalise added. "Global sales of semiconductors for the first 11 months of 2006 are in line with the SIA forecast of 9.4 percent growth for the year."
Looking ahead, the group is forecasting continued strength for the upcoming year. "2007 is shaping up to be another good year for the industry with a forecast of 10 percent growth over 2006," Scalise said. Beyond that, SIA recently projected global semiconductor sales to reach $321 billion in 2009.
