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According to the latest figures released by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), worldwide sales of semiconductors in May reached $21.8 billion, 7.5 percent higher than the $20.3 billion reported for the same month a year ago. May sales were 2.8 percent higher than the $21.2 billion reported for April 2008. May is traditionally a stronger month than previous months in the calendar year, according to the SIA. 

“Growing sales of consumer electronic products in emerging markets, including China, Latin America, and India, have become a major factor driving semiconductor sales,” said SIA President George Scalise. “Consumers account for more than half of all semiconductor sales worldwide. In the past, the U.S. was the largest consumer market and the primary driver of demand. Today this country accounts for less than a quarter of total consumer demand,” Scalise noted. “Factors affecting the world economy – rather than just developed country markets – are increasingly important to the industry,”

Although fears continue to circle about the U.S. credit crunch and its impact on consumer spending, the SIA believes that the recent tax rebates in the country may have supported continued consumer electronic spending, at least in the short-term.

According to Scalise, the shift in demand patterns has major implications for the semiconductor industry. “While we haven’t seen a slowdown in U.S. consumer spending on electronic products, a slowdown in the U.S. today would not have the same impact it had in the past,” said Scalise. “The addition of more than 300 million consumers in other regions has created new opportunities for the worldwide microchip industry, and a more diversified market has helped to drive increased sales of semiconductors.”

The semiconductor industry, according to the SIA, is becoming significantly less dependent on the North American consumer. Currently, the U.S. controls only 21 percent of PC unit sales, compared to 31 percent in the past few years. This is also true in the mobile phone market, with mobile phone sales only 13 percent of the global total, compared to 21 percent only five years ago, the SIA said.

However, the memory market continues to be a challenging environment, pulling overall sales revenue down due to continued price erosion caused by oversupply.