Finally! European chip sales turns up

May sales were 23.2 percent lower than May 2008 when sales were $21.5 billion. All sales numbers represent a three-month moving average of global semiconductor sales. “The May sales numbers reflect the third-consecutive month of sequential growth for the semiconductor industry,” said SIA President George Scalise. “The sequential monthly increases lead us to be cautiously optimistic about a return to normal seasonal patterns for the industry going forward.” Scalise noted that as semiconductors become ever-more pervasive in a growing array of products, the global microchip industry increasingly mirrors the performance of the overall economy. “As consumer confidence returns and the economy resumes growth, we expect the industry to reflect those patterns,” Scalise concluded.