Semiconductors Hit By Floods, Economy, But Growth Expected
Thailand's floods and Europe's financial woes combine for a slight decline in global sales but long-term growth remains on track, the Semiconductor Industry Association says.
Shortages caused by floods in Thailand and European financial turmoil put some short-term strain on semiconductor sales as 2011 drew to a close. But for the full year, worldwide sales were set to improve slightly compared with 2010, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said Tuesday.
The trade association also predicted semiconductor sales growth in 2012.
November sales of the semiconductor products used in PCs and other computing devices and components came in at $25.1 billion globally, SIA said. That marked a 2.4 percent decline from the $25.7 billion in sales in October, but also pointed to a slight increase for the three-month period ending in November as compared with June, July, and August.
SIA calculates its monthly sales numbers using a three-month moving average.
"Supply chain disruptions resulting from the floods in Thailand have impacted semiconductor sales in the near term," said SIA president Brian Toohey in a statement. "However, OEM's are expected to recover production losses over the course of the next few months. November sales were additionally affected by the continuing European financial crisis, which is having a broad impact on other economies and global demand."
Europe's woes were especially evident in SIA's year-over-year numbers. Semiconductor sales in Europe in November 2011 were down 11.5 percent, dropping from $3.42 billion in November 2010 to $3.03 billion. Sales in Japan were also down significantly, declining 8.2 percent year-over-year, while semiconductor sales in the Americas dipped 2.5 percent and sales in the Asia Pacific markets excluding Japan grew 0.4 percent.
Sequentially, all markets saw semiconductor sales dip slightly from October 2010. November sales in the Americas, Europe, and Japan declined at about the same clip, between 1.7 percent and 1.8 percent, while sales in Asia Pacific dropped 2.9 percent compared with October's figures.
SIA's three-month moving average sales figures pointed to a resurgence in the Japan market following the devastating earthquake and tsunami earlier in the year. Semiconductor sales were up 4.7 percent in Japan from September through November as compared with the June through August period. That improvement, combined with small sales increases and slight declines in the other three major markets SIA tracks led to an 0.2 percent increase in monthly average sales for the three-month period ending in November, the trade association reported.