58 percent year-on-year
The Semiconductor Industry
Association (SIA) released some rather positive data on semiconductor
sales in Q1 2010. Global sales rose 58 percent compared to the same
quarter last year, from $43.7 billion to $69.2 billion. Sales also rose
4.6 percent sequentially in March.
SIA President George Scalise claims that sales were second only to
record sales in November 2007 and that demand was healthy in most major
end markets.
"Foundries
and integrated device manufacturers are ramping production to bring
supply into line with expected demand levels. We do not expect to see
near-term issues with either excess inventories or capacity due to
strong unit demand in key end markets," said Scalise.
Scalise pointed out that the recovery in the enterprise sector was
somewhat slower than in the consumer sector. Of course, continued
growth will depend on the speed of the global economic recovery.