SAN JOSE – Worldwide sales of semiconductors for the second quarter were $51.7 billion, up 17% sequentially, the Semiconductor Industry Association reported today.
 
The 90-day moving average sales in the quarter were down 20% from 2008.
 
Worldwide sales in June were $17.2 billion, up 3.7% from May and down 20% from June 2008. All monthly sales numbers represent a three-month moving average of global semiconductor sales.
 
Year-to-date sales are down 25% to $95.9 billion. 
 
“The fourth-consecutive monthly increase in sales is one indicator the industry is returning to normal seasonal growth patterns,” said SIA president George Scalise in a statement. Scalise said focused supply chain management by both producers and customers helped to moderate the impact of the global economic recession on the industry. “Inventories have been closely managed, encouraging us to believe that the sequential increase in quarterly sales represents a gradual recovery of demand.”
 
Scalise noted that industry analysts have recently become more optimistic in their forecasts for key demand drivers. “Consensus estimates for unit sales of PCs are now in the range of -5% to flat compared to 2008, whereas earlier forecasts were projecting year-on-year unit declines of 9 to 12%. In cellphone handsets, analysts now believe the unit decline will be in the range of 7 to 9% compared to earlier forecasts of a decline of around 15%. PCs and cellphones account for nearly 60% of worldwide semiconductor consumption,” said Scalise.
 
Economic stimulus programs in China, including incentives for purchasing consumer products and investment in 3G/TDSCDMA communications infrastructure, have helped drive semiconductor sales in the world’s largest chip market. “The global macroeconomic environment remains the key factor in determining the timing and rate of recovery for the semiconductor industry,” Scalise said.