February chip sales down by 6.8%

The sequential drop was the steepest in over a decade, beating the 6.5 percent sequential decline of 2007. However, it compensates in part for above trend sales shown in January.

On average over the last decade actual February chip sales have been 2.5 percent higher than in the preceding month so a 6.8 percent contraction is a long way below the trend. March has averaged sequential growth of 27.8 percent over the last decade. These figures are based on 'actual' chip sales.

On the other hand, the three-month average of worldwide sales of semiconductors was $25.19 billion for the month of February 2011, a decline of 1.1 percent from the prior month when averaged sales were $25.52 billion, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). Sales increased by 13.6 percent from $22.19 billion in February 2010.

The sales reflect a dip in both the averaged and actual sequential February sales.

The SIA and the European Semiconductor Industry Association use an average to smooth out the monthly data that would otherwise show troughs at the beginning of the quarters and peaks at the end of the quarters.

The numbers predate the Japan earthquake and tsunami and Brian Toohey, president of the SIA, said his organization is monitoring the situation for potential impacts on the supply chain. These numbers are based on a three-month average of the actual sales in the nominal month and the two preceding months.

- Peter Clarke
??EE Times