The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported that worldwide sales of semiconductors increased by 13.2% in the first-quarter compared to the same time last year.
The sales of semiconductors in the first quarter amounted to $55.3 billion. Last year, they only amounted to $48.9 billion in the first quarter.
“Worldwide sales of semiconductors continued to outpace forecasted levels in the first quarter of 2005,” said SIA President George Scalise. “The first quarter is historically a relatively weak one for the microchip industry. The unexpected strength of semiconductor sales, with 13 percent growth over a very strong period a year ago, is a good sign for the industry.”
Sales were higher-than-expected for wireless handsets, PCs, and consumer electronics which all contributed to the high number of semiconductor sales.
“Consumer spending on electronics was stronger than historical patterns for the first quarter despite reports of declining consumer confidence,” said Scalise. “Overall GDP growth of 3.1 percent in the first quarter reflects underlying strength of the U.S. economy, although this number was slightly lower than the 3.5 percent growth expected by some economists.”
“We expect sales in the current quarter will be flat to nominally higher than the first quarter. As we reported last month, our earlier projection for flat sales for the year as a whole now appears to have been overly cautious,” Scalise concluded.
An updated forecast is supposed to be released by the SIA on June 8.
Chris is a staff writer for murdok. Visit murdok for the latest ebusiness news.
