August 6, 2007 – Chip sales during 1H07 were up roughly 2% from the same period a year ago, a couple ticks above full-year projections of 1.8% growth for the entire year, according to the latest data from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), whose “actual” and rolling-average sales both pinpoint significant weakness in the Americas market.
According to the SIA’s 3-mon. rolling averages, chip sales in 1H07 totaled $121 billion, up 2% from the $118.4 billion posted in 1H06. Those same averages showed a 2% sequential decline during 2Q07 to $59.9 billion, and a 1.7% decline in June sales to a fraction under $20 billion (representing a 0.9% increase Y-Y).
“Continuing rapid price attrition in several important market segments” dampened industry growth in 1H07, despite a 7% increase in unit shipments, noted SIA president George Scalise in a statement, adding that end demand for PCs and cell phones, which make up ~60% of semiconductor demand, are both on pace for ~10% growth in 2007.
The growing gulf between memory prices and output dominated the scene in 1H07. DRAM ASPs plummeted 40% while unit shipments were up nearly 66% Y-Y, Scalise noted. The NAND flash memory saw a similar yet muted scenario, with a 15% ASP decline and a 40% unit shipment increase.
Microprocessor sales were down 3% in June vs. May, but up 7% year-on-year. Unit shipments were up 19% for 1H07 vs. a year ago. Micros have seen similar pricing problems as memory, but the rate of Y-Y price attrition is now below 10%, according to the SIA.
The SIA’s tally of actual chip sales shows some growth in every region except the Americas. June sales were up by double-digits across all geographies, and 20.9% in total, to $22.7 billion. Year-on-year, actual chip sales were off 1.3%, with a glaring 15% dropoff in sales in the Americas region. 2Q07 sales were down 2.0% vs. 1Q to $59.9 billion, but up 0.9% vs. 2Q06.
1H07 actuals were up 2.1% vs. a year ago to $121 billion, with all regions except the Americas (-8.8%) seeing small single-digit growth. 1H07 sales were down 6.5% vs. 2H06, again dragged down by the Americas (-13.7%) with other regions declining 2%-6%.