Big Semiconductor Sales Gain in Americas Nov 6, 2012

Printable format  Email this Article  Search

Worldwide sales of semiconductors were $24.79 billion in September 2012, up 2% from $24.30 billion in August 2012, according to data from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) released on the day before the election in November.

Third quarter 2012 sales were $74.4 billion, up 1.8% from the second quarter, but year-to-date 2012 sales were down 4.7% from the first three quarters of 2011. SIA said all monthly sales numbers represent a three-month moving average.

"The global industry remains behind last year's pace due to lingering economic headwinds," said Brian Toohey, SIA president and CEO.

Sales in the Americas were up 5.8% on a sequential monthly basis, for the largest increase in the region since May 2010. September also showed higher sales than August in:
* Asia Pacific - 1.6%
* Europe - 0.7%
* Japan - 0.2%.

The association reported that all four regions were down from sales in September 2011.

"On a regional basis, the Americas were particularly encouraging, posting the largest monthly increase in more than two years," Toohey said. "The region also received positive news last week when SIA announced that the U.S. semiconductor industry now directly employs almost a quarter of a million workers and added jobs three times faster than the rest of the U.S. economy."

Back to Daily News