June 4, 2007 – Worldwide sales of semiconductors slipped 2.1% in April vs. March (and increased a scant 1.6% year-on-year) to $19.92 billion — the first time in 12 months that chip sales (calculated as a 3-mo. moving average) have been below $20 billion — as declining ASPs in major industry segments dampen sales, notes the SIA in its latest monthly analysis.
The Americas region once again saw the biggest decline vs. the prior month (-3.0%), while both the Asia-Pacific (-2.5%) and Europe (-2.3%) also declined sequentially according to the SIA’s data. Compared with a year ago, the Americas are the only region to show any decline at all (-10%), while other regions managed to eke out 2%-5% Y-Y chip sales increases.
Based on actual chip sales data, April sales witnessed a typical slide to $1.80 billion, down 24% from $2.37 billion in March though up 5.3% from a year ago. That roughly ties with Feb. 2007 as the lowest total chip sales since April 2006, and is nearly 30% below the cyclical peak of $2.55 billion achieved in August 2006.
Microprocessors, DRAMs, and NAND flash are all mired in ASP slumps that are offsetting strong unit shipments, noted SIA president George Scalise, in a statement. Sales for microprocessors, he pointed out, were down nearly 2% during the four months so far in 2007 vs. the same period last year, even as unit shipments have risen by nearly 10%.
ASPs are also dominating headlines in the memory market, causing a widening disparity between sales and unit shipments. DRAM unit shipments are up 50% in the same 4-mo. period vs. a 27% sales decline. NAND flash shipments are even higher (+54%), and though ASPs haven’t been as fragile (-1%) it’s still a glaring difference.
“Consumer spending on electronics products appears to have held up reasonably well despite a slowdown in economic growth in some regions of the world,” Scalise added.
The SIA will release its updated annual forecast on June 13, at which point it may well reduce its estimates for 2007 chip sales and beyond, following similar downgrades from other market watchers including Gartner, iSuppli, and IC Insights.
Global semiconductor sales, April 2007
vs. March 2007:
Market……………………Last month…………….Current month…………….% change
Americas……………………3.34…………………………..3.24……………………….-3.0%
Europe……………………….3.39…………………………..3.31……………………….-2.3%
Japan…………………………3.87…………………………..3.87………………………..0.0%
Asia Pacific………………..9.75…………………………..9.50……………………….-2.5%
TOTAL………………………20.34…………………………19.92……………………..-2.1%
vs. April 2006:
Market……………………Last year…………….Current month…………….% change
Americas……………………3.60…………………………..3.24……………………-10.0%
Europe……………………….3.23…………………………..3.31………………………2.4%
Japan…………………………3.75…………………………..3.87………………………3.1%
Asia Pacific………………..9.02…………………………..9.50………………………5.4%
TOTAL………………………19.60…………………………19.92……………………..1.6%
3-mo. moving average:
Market………………….Nov/Dec/Jan…………..Feb/Mar/Apr………………% change
Americas……………………3.71…………………………..3.24……………………-12.7%
Europe……………………….3.49…………………………..3.31…………………..-5.0%
Japan…………………………3.79…………………………..3.87……………………2.0%
Asia Pacific……………….10.49…………………………..9.50…………………..-9.4%
TOTAL………………………21.48…………………………19.92………………….-7.3%
Actual global billings:
Market………………..April 2007……………….vs. March 2007…………….vs. April 2006
Americas……………………3.00……………………….3.74 (-19.6%)………………2.83 (6.2%)
Europe……………………….2.92………………………3.89 (-24.8%)………………..2.75 (6.5%)
Japan…………………………3.68……………………….4.38 (-16.0%)……………….3.47 (6.0%)
Asia Pacific………………..8.41………………………11.73 (-28.3%)………………8.07 (4.2%)
TOTAL………………………18.01……………………..23.73 (-24.1%)………………17.11 (5.3%)
Source: SIA