Chip sales slip

Worldwide sales of semiconductors declined slightly in June to $18.0 billion, a sequential decline of 0.5 percent from the $18.1 billion reported in May, the

(SIA) reported recently.

June 2005 sales were up by 0.8 percent from the $17.8 billion reported in June 2004. For the first six months of 2005, global chip sales totalled $109.0 billion, an increase of 6.5 percent over the first six months of 2004, when total sales were $102.4 billion. Sales in the second quarter of 2005 came in at $53.9 billion, a sequential decline of 2.1 percent from the $55.1 billion reported in the first quarter.

“The nominal decline in global semiconductor sales in June was caused in part by inventory adjustments in the distribution channel and price attrition in DRAMs,” said SIA President George Scalise. “In addition, a portion of the decline can be attributed to differences in when sales are recognised by chipmakers and the WSTS (World Semiconductor Trade Statistics) organisation.”