News Article
Statistics
Semiconductor sales
A look at Semiconductor sales in February 2008.
European semiconductor sales dip in February
Sales of semiconductors in the overall European market declined 3.1 percent in February, in line with seasonal patterns and sales developments reported for the other regions, the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) reports.
When measured in units, European sales were still positive, showing an 8% year on year growth, meaning that average selling prices continued to have a negative impact on the market.
Sales for memories, both DRAMS and Flash, and microprocessors weakened further this month compared to January, on a three months rolling average.
Sales of digital signal processors, and generally chips, used in communication applications, decreased, mirroring some weakness on the cellular phone market. Discretes, optoelectronics, standard logic chips have shown positive dynamics, as has the area of microcontrollers. These latter devices have largely been driven by the automotive market in Europe.
Looking at the statistics in closer detail it can be seen that European Semiconductor sales in February 2008 amounted to US$ 3.336 billion according to WSTS, a figure that is down 3.1% versus the previous month's output. This figure corresponds to a decrease of 0.1% compared to the same month last year. On a Year To Date (YTD) basis semiconductor sales increased by 0.1% versus the same period in the year 2007.
The exchange rate of the Euro compared to the US dollar widened its impact on the growth data to new record levels. Measured in Euro, semiconductor sales in February 2008 were 2.278 billion Euros, down 3.2% on previous month and down 10.7% versus the same month a year ago.
This exchange rate as well as the low average selling prices continue to impact the European figures.
On a YTD basis semiconductor sales showed a decline of 11.3% versus the same period in the year 2007.
On a worldwide basis, semiconductor sales in February 2008 were US$ 20.436 billion, down 4.9% versus the previous month's figures. This results in an increase of 1.5% versus the same month in 2007 and on a YTD basis it results in an increase of 1.5%.
