SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Global semiconductor sales reached $12.5 billion in October 2002, a 1.8% sequential increase from the $12.3 billion in revenue achieved in September 2002 and a 20% increase from the $10.4 billion total recorded in October 2001, according to the latest monthly figures from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
But the growth rate has slowed. October's sales followed September sales up about 3.3% from the August sales total of $11.9 billion.
The flattening trend is all the more significant because the SIA does not broadly publish the monthly sales figures but numbers that are a three-month moving average of the monthly sales data. The SIA said that using a moving average is a mathematical technique to smooth the peaks and troughs that might otherwise be seen due to companies' monthly financial calendars.
The October numbers also show a change in regional behavior with Europe coming through as the hottest market, overtaking AsiaPacific and Japan.
Semiconductor sales in Europe grew 6.2% in October led by a strong wireless market, according to the SIA, while chip sales rose 1% in the Asia-Pacific market and sales were up 2% in Japan. Sales in the Americas rose just 0.5% and this is ascribed to a continuing migration of electronic equipment production from US-based facilities to the Asia Pacific region.
"Having achieved three quarters of continually rising growth, including 5.6% in the first quarter, 5.8% in the second and 8.2% growth in 2002's third quarter, our forecast calls for moderation in the year's final quarter, consistent with normal year-end patterns - steady but sustainable growth across broad product sectors," said George Scalise, SIA president, in a statement.
The wireless sector is growing the most briskly, the SIA said, and said this had driven the value of flash memory sales up 6.9% in a month while sales of DSPs were up 4.4% in October. Even components serving a sluggish PC market showed growth with DRAM sales up 1.2% and microprocessor revenue rising 6.5%, the SIA said.
RSS
Digital
10 emerging technologies to watch:
EE Times has compiled a list of emerging technologies that we think will be worth watching out for in 2010. Biofeedback or thought-control of electronics are among the contenders.
10 CEOs out in 2009:
It's been a tough year for the global electronics industry and CEOs. We survey the dismissal of 10 industry CEOs during the first three quarters of 2009 and what's ahead for the rest of the year.
Executive pay:
The economy stinks. Rank-and-file engineers are feeling the pain. What about technology CEOs? We crunched the numbers buried in corporate financial statements to find out. Here's what we found.
10 companies in trouble (revisited):
What follows is an updated version of 10 companies in trouble. Some companies have been removed since the last version, others remain. Still others have been added to the mix.
Early predictions for 2010:
The electronics industry is recovering, but there is still some uncertainty in the market. Some see a boom year in 2010. Some see a double dip. So what's in store for the rest of this year and 2010?
Top 10 IC vendors with cash:
The world's biggest IC companies by revenue rank not only among the best in their respective industry segments but are also more likely to have huge piles of cash that can be used to fund acquisitions, R&D and product development.
Notable women in microelectronics:
There is no better time than a global economic recession to examine the keys to successful corporate governance. So, EE Times has compiled an international list that celebrates women who are business and technology leaders in semis.
EE Times updates Silicon 60:
Seventeen companies have been added to the lastest version of our Silicon 60 list of emerging startups. Forty-three companies survived as emerging companies that are still worth watching.
RSS| 
Digital| 
Mobile
