News Article
European semiconductor distribution market remains strong
The European semiconductor distribution market grew strongly in the third quarter of 2004, increasing sales by 19% on the same period last year to euro 1.17 billion.
The European semiconductor distribution market grew strongly in the third quarter of 2004, increasing sales by 19% on the same period last year to euro 1.17 billion. Overall growth during 2004 is in line to hit 15%.
DMASS chairman Gary Nevison said the figures showed that the market had gained some ground "after a few difficult" years but urged caution for the future.
"2004 looks like a good year for semiconductor distribution. Unfortunately, an expected boom has not materialised - proof that the only predictable aspect of our business is its unpredictability.
"Our biggest concern for the business today is not so much in the cyclical development but in restriction of hazardous substances legislation and its impact on mid-term bookings and sales."
The best performing parts of Europe were Israel, Poland and emerging eastern European countries, which grew year-on-year by between 73% and 93%.
The western European region was led by Iberia (41.3% growth), France (27.6%) and Switzerland (24.7%). Despite putting in below-average growth, Germany (market value: euro 342 million), the UK (euro 154 million) and Italy (euro 138 million) remain the continents biggest markets.
"Eastern Europe certainly still benefits from production transfer," said Nevison. "But it is good to see that western European markets continue to have double digit growth potential as well."
In terms of product sales, the third quarter largely mirrored the second quarter, DMASS reporting double-digit growth in all product categories. Growth leader in Q3 and for 2004 as a whole was memories with a growth of 53% - DRAMs, Flash-Memories and EEPROMs all grew above the average.
The only other product groups with above average growth were: other MOS-logic (25.6%) and programmable logic (22.6%). Discrete, opto, analogue, MOS micros and bipolar logic all grew between 13.6% and 16.8%. Mainstream highlights were power FETs (29.4%), DSPs (26.8%) and LEDs (24.9%).
"The fact that all product areas showed a healthy double digit upturn makes us believe that 2004 seems to be a year of real growth, driven by stable pricing, higher volumes and hard effort rather than by pure cyclical effects," said Nevison.
"Distribution seems to remain a veritable concept for many thousand partners in the supply chain."
DMASS chairman Gary Nevison said the figures showed that the market had gained some ground "after a few difficult" years but urged caution for the future.
"2004 looks like a good year for semiconductor distribution. Unfortunately, an expected boom has not materialised - proof that the only predictable aspect of our business is its unpredictability.
"Our biggest concern for the business today is not so much in the cyclical development but in restriction of hazardous substances legislation and its impact on mid-term bookings and sales."
The best performing parts of Europe were Israel, Poland and emerging eastern European countries, which grew year-on-year by between 73% and 93%.
The western European region was led by Iberia (41.3% growth), France (27.6%) and Switzerland (24.7%). Despite putting in below-average growth, Germany (market value: euro 342 million), the UK (euro 154 million) and Italy (euro 138 million) remain the continents biggest markets.
"Eastern Europe certainly still benefits from production transfer," said Nevison. "But it is good to see that western European markets continue to have double digit growth potential as well."
In terms of product sales, the third quarter largely mirrored the second quarter, DMASS reporting double-digit growth in all product categories. Growth leader in Q3 and for 2004 as a whole was memories with a growth of 53% - DRAMs, Flash-Memories and EEPROMs all grew above the average.
The only other product groups with above average growth were: other MOS-logic (25.6%) and programmable logic (22.6%). Discrete, opto, analogue, MOS micros and bipolar logic all grew between 13.6% and 16.8%. Mainstream highlights were power FETs (29.4%), DSPs (26.8%) and LEDs (24.9%).
"The fact that all product areas showed a healthy double digit upturn makes us believe that 2004 seems to be a year of real growth, driven by stable pricing, higher volumes and hard effort rather than by pure cyclical effects," said Nevison.
"Distribution seems to remain a veritable concept for many thousand partners in the supply chain."
