Semiconductor revenues continued their declines over 2018 in the latest reports, but there was some improvement with September sales showing the third consecutive month of increases.
Global sales of semiconductors reached $106.7 billion for the third quarter, down by 14.6% over the third quarter of 2018. Sales for September were $35.6 billion, down also by 14.6% over a year ago.
Industry officials expressed some hope that both September and the third quarter were higher than the previous periods in 2019, however. The September number was up by 3.4% over August, while the third quarter number was up by 8.2% over the second quarter.
The statistics were reported by the Semiconductor Industry Association based on data from the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics group using a three-month moving average.
“Following months of slower sales earlier in the year, the global semiconductor market rebounded somewhat in the third quarter of 2019,” said John Neuffer, SIA president. He noted that sales are still behind record totals recorded in 2018, but September represented the third consecutive month-to-month in sales increases. Month-to-month sales were up across all regions and product categories, with China and the Americas in the lead.
The Americas sales increase in September was up 4.3% over August, while in China it was up 4.4%.
Major contributors to the declines have been lower demand for DRAM and NAND for data processing and soft demand for cell phones, according to a consensus of analysts.
RELATED: Ray of hope for chips: two months of increased sales