Sales grew by 1.1 percent from August 2008 when sales were $22.7 billion. Sales of $196.4 billion for the first nine months of 2008 were up by 4 percent compared to the first nine months of 2007 when sales were $189 billion.

The three-month moving average figures are compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization.

"The rate of semiconductor sales growth slowed in September as the industry began to feel the effects of the turmoil in world financial markets," said SIA President George Scalise. "We face a near-term period of uncertainty with a steep decline in consumer confidence and caution in the enterprise segment."

Seasonally adjusted, sales were down by 2.3 percent month-on-month, with weakness in memory chips, LCD TV, mobile handsets and wireless infrastructure.

PC logic and processor chips and devices for the automotive sector held up reasonably well, as did gaming chips.

Excluding memory products, industry sales in September grew by 7.8 percent year-on-year. Bit demand for some memory products grew by more than 100 percent year-on-year, however, significant price attrition continued to impact revenues. Sales of flash memory chips declined by 37.5 percent year-on-year, while sales of DRAMs declined by 11.1 percent from September 2007.

Scalise said sales of personal computers and cell phones  the two largest drivers of semiconductor sales  remain strong in emerging markets, driven by growing consumer populations and rising income levels coupled with more affordable pricing. "Economic growth in major developing countries is still high in mid- to high-single digits, albeit below recent peaks."

Year-to-date chip sales growth of 4 percent trails the SIA mid-year forecast of 4.5 percent growth, noted Scalise. "Restoring consumer confidence is key to growing semiconductor sales going forward," he stressed.

By: DocMemory
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