Sept. sales up 6.5% with 17.5% jump in 3Q

By Mark LaPedus Courtesy of Silicon Strategies (11/02/2003 7:00 PM EST)

SAN JOSE -- The IC industry recovery continues to pick up steam with worldwide sales of semiconductors reaching $14.4 billion in September, up 6.5% from $13.6 billion in August, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) on Sunday.

The September figure--the strongest percentage change since 1990"was the seventh consecutive monthly increase. It also propelled total third quarter revenue to $43.3 billion, a 17.5% increase over the third quarter of 2002, and a 13.7% sequential rise over the second quarter of 2003, according to the San Jose-based trade group.

"September and third quarter data confirm that demand in the global semiconductor market is rising briskly," stated SIA President George Scalise, in a statement.

"Performance is strong in all major market sectors"computation, communications and consumer, indicating a solid, continuing and broad-based growth cycle," Scalise said.

PCs were the main driver in the third quarter, producing a 33.2% rise in DRAMs and a 23.9% jump in microprocessors.

"The better-than-expected 7.2% rise in GDP for the third quarter was driven by a combination of a record 6.6% increase in consumer outlays, and strong business spending, as investment in computers and software rose 15.4%, after an 8.3% gain in the year's second quarter," Scalise said.

Flash sales grew 27.2% and digital signal processors (DSPs) were up 20.3% in the third quarter, driven by strong growth in cell phones, which account for 12% of end-market demand.

The consumer sector, some 17% of the market, is expanding across the globe with new applications and multi-functional devices.

Optoelectronics were up 14.6% and application specific standardized products (ASSPs) were up 17.2% in the third quarter.

In the September quarter, sales in Asia-Pacific rose 19.1%; Europe was up 12%, Japan 11% and the Americas 8.6% over the July quarter.

"Solid growth across all four geographic markets positions the industry for revenue growth exceeding 10% in 2003, followed by stronger double-digit growth in 2004," Scalise said.