Global sales of chips used in computers, cell phones, industrial applications and cars maintained their upward trend in May, putting them on target to reach the Semiconductor Industry Association’s (SIA) previously forecast target of $290.5 billion in sales by year-end.
The SIA reports that worldwide chip sales rose 47 percent in May to $24.7 billion, a sequential increase of 4.5 percent from April when sales were $23.6 billion. Chips used in computers and cell phones helped buoy sales, with unit sales of personal computers forecast to grow by 20 percent and cell phone unit sales forecast to rise between 10 percent and 12 percent over last year.
The mixed economic recovery and growth in emerging markets also helped chip sales rebound. Demand from China and India spurred demand for computers and phones while the automotive market, which also uses chips, began to show some signs of growth after several years of weak sales.
SIA President George Scalise warned that the industry’s year-on-year and sequential growth rates will slow over the next six months as they begin to reflect the industry’s economic recovery, which began in the second half of last year. Chip sales during the first half of last year marked a low point for the industry.
Scalise also said the industry should monitor several weak points in the global economic recovery that could affect chip sales.
“Growing concerns about issues such as government debt, declining consumer confidence and pressures on government spending do not appear to have affected worldwide semiconductor sales to date, but given the semiconductor industry’s growing sensitivity to macroeconomic conditions, these issues bear watching in the second half of 2010,” he said.