Worldwide semiconductor sales rose again this month, according to figures from the Semiconductor Industry Association – with sales in Asia showing an increase of 18% from May of last year. Worldwide sales reached $11.28bn in May, up 11.8% from May 1998. However, month on month growth remained flat, with chip sales in the Americas growing only 0.6% from April, and Japan sales growing only 0.9%. Asia Pacific sales managed a 4.3% rise from April, while European sales declined 2.8%.
Using the rolling three month average sales figures, only Europe showed a tiny increase of 0.4%. Japan declined 5.4%, Asia Pacific 4.1%, and the Americas 2.1%. Overall, using the three month rolling average of sales activity, the market declined 2.7%.
