Chip sales down 30 pct in March: SIA

Worldwide sales of semiconductors hit 14.7 billion dollars in March, down 29.9 percent from a year ago as the global recession continued to take a big bite out of the computer chip industry, the SIA said.

It said sales for the first quarter fell to 44 billion dollars from 62.8 billion dollars during the same period last year, and 52.2 billion dollars in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The trade association said that while sales were down year-on-year, March sales of 14.7 billion dollars were a 3.3 percent improvement on February sales of 14.2 billion dollars.

"The modest sequential rebound in worldwide sales in March suggests that demand has stabilized somewhat, albeit at substantially lower levels than last year," SIA president George Scalise said.

"There are some bright spots such as 'smartphones' and 'netbook' PCs, but there are no clear signs of early firming of demand in other major end markets such as automotive, corporate information technology, and consumer electronics.

"The global chip industry continues to reflect the influence of the worldwide economic slowdown," Scalise said.

"We expect economic stimulus measures in the US combined with other countries will begin to impact sales as we enter 2010," he added.

Market research firm Gartner said last month that worldwide semiconductor revenue fell by more than five percent last year and could face a "far worse" decline this year.

(c) 2009 AFP