Chip sales rise as tech gloom lifts

 

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By Reuters

Posted on 1 Jun 2009 at 17:49

Global semiconductor sales rose 6.4% in April, as the technology industry begins to contemplate a lifting of the gloom.

The Semiconductor Industry Association put the increase down to the PC market, which it claimed had been stronger than predicted earlier in the year.

"Consensus forecasts currently project that PC unit sales in 2009 will decline by about 6% compared to earlier forecasts of a decline in the range of 12%," says SIA President George Scalise.

In contrast, the SIA is predicting that mobile phone sales will fall by around 7% compared with earlier forecasts of 15% for the year.

PCs and cell phones account for nearly 60% of all semiconductor consumption.

"Two consecutive months of sequential sales growth may be an indication of a return to more normal seasonal sales patterns in some market sectors, albeit at lower sales levels than last year," he adds.