Semiconductor sales were down globally in August by 15.9%, compared to August of 2018, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.
Sales hit $34.2 billion in August, down from $40.7 billion in August 2018. That August figure was still up 2.5% from July 2019 when sales were $33.4 billion.
SIA reports the numbers based on a compilation of a three-month moving average that was done by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics group.
The increase from July 2019 followed an increase in July over June, which was taken as a positive sign. “While worldwide semiconductor sales remain well behind the totals reached in 2018, month-to-month sales increased in two consecutive months for the first time in nearly a year,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. In July 2019, sales were 1.7% more than in June 2019, increasing to $33.4 billion, up from $32.8 billion.
“Sales into the Americas market were mixed, decreasing significantly year-to-year but increasing more than any other region on a month-to-month basis,” he added.
The increase in the Americas for August over July was 4%, reaching 6.29 billion in August. The only geography to see a decline month-to-month was Europe, dropping about 0.8%.
Year-to-year, August was down by nearly 29% in the Americas, while China was down 15.7% and Japan was down 11.5%. Asia Pac was down 9.2%, while Europe was down 8.6%. In the Americas the August 2019 sales were $6.29 billion, compared to $8.83 billion in 2018.
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Analysts have said the major contributors to the declines were lower demand for DRAM and NAND for data processing and soft demand for cell phones.