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First half 2007 IC sales grew 2.1 percent, reports SIA |
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Aug 03, 2007 at 02:16 PM |
 The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) uncharacteristically underestimated semiconductor sales growth for the first half of 2007 and may need to adjust full year projections upwards should demand and stronger pricing return as many market analysts are now projecting.
Worldwide sales of semiconductors grew to US$121 billion in the first half of 2007, an increase of 2 percent from the US$118.4 billion reported for the first half of 2006, according to the SIA. The trade association has only a 1.8 percent growth forecast for 2007.
Second-quarter sales of US$59.9 billion declined by 2 percent from the US$61.1 billion reported in the first quarter of 2007. Sales in June 2007 amounted to US$20 billion, a decline of 1.7 percent from the US$20.3 billion reported in May.
"The major story for the chip industry for the first half of 2007 continues to be rapid price attrition," said George Scalise, SIA President. "DRAM prices declined nearly 40 percent while unit shipments grew by almost 66 percent year on year," Scalise continued. "The pattern was similar, if somewhat less dramatic, in the NAND flash segment, especially early in the year. NAND unit shipments grew by almost 40 percent compared to June of 2006 but ASPs declined by just over 15 percent. Recently NAND prices have been stabilizing, and the price decline in June was the smallest we've seen this year."
SIA reported that sales of microprocessors declined by 3 percent sequentially but were up by more than 7 percent from June of 2006. Unit shipments of microprocessors were up by 19 percent for the first half of 2007 compared to the first half of 2006 while the rate of year-on-year price attrition in this segment has now fallen below 10 percent for the first time this year.
However, Scalise reiterated SIA's revised forecast of 1.8 percent growth, which indicates that the association believes the second-half recovery will be heavily muted.
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