WASHINGTON — The 90-day moving average semiconductor sales reached $25.8 billion worldwide in April, down 6.2% from 2015 and 1% lower than the revised March figure.

The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics organization, which compiles the data, also issued a revised forecast projecting semiconductor sales to fall in 2016, followed by slight market growth in 2017 and 2018.

“Global semiconductor sales decreased marginally in April, continuing a recent trend of market sluggishness driven by soft demand and a range of macroeconomic headwinds,” said John Neuffer, president and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association. “Despite a cumulative decrease across all product categories, year-to-year sales of microprocessors and analog products increased modestly, perhaps foreshadowing stronger sales ahead. The latest industry forecast suggests global sales may indeed rebound somewhat in the second half of 2016, but still fall short of last year’s total. The global market is projected to grow slightly in 2017 and 2018.”

Regionally, year-to-year sales increased in Japan (2.2%) and China (0.3%), but decreased in Asia Pacific/All Other (-8.2%), Europe (-8.6%), and the Americas (-14.8%).

Compared with last month, sales were up slightly Japan (0.2%) and Asia Pacific/All Other (0.1%), but down in Europe (-0.8%), China (-1.8%), and the Americas (-2.2%).

Additionally, SIA endorsed the WSTS Spring 2016 global semiconductor sales forecast, which projects the industry’s worldwide sales will be $327.2 billion in 2016, down 2.4% from 2015. WSTS projects year-to-year decreases across all regional markets for 2016: Europe (-0.1%), Asia Pacific (-1.2%), Japan (-1.7%), and the Americas (-7.3%). On the positive side, WSTS predicts growth in 2016 for several semiconductor product categories, including discretes, analog, and MCU products.

Beyond 2016, the semiconductor market is expected to grow at a modest pace across all regions. WSTS forecasts 2% growth globally for 2017, to $333.7 billion in total sales, and 2.2% in 2018, reaching $340.9 billion. WSTS tabulates its semiannual industry forecast by convening an extensive group of global semiconductor companies that provide accurate and timely indicators of semiconductor trends.

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