European Semiconductor Market Update Shows Strength

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In January, worldwide sales of semiconductors amounted to US$ 26.880 billion, the European Semiconductor Industry Association (ESIA) reported on the basis of the latest WSTS  data. The results  are  in  line  with  seasonal  patterns – as  the  first  months  of  the year are usually slower for semiconductors – and represent a 2.7% drop compared to the December sales of US$ 27.617 billion. All growth figures represent a three - month rolling average.

In January, the European market was weaker globally by 1.7% compared to December 2015.  Sales reached  US$  2.721  billion compared to US$ 2.767 billion a month ago.

Nevertheless, in Europe, demand remained strong for  several  key  product  categories.

Discretes opto-sensing and emitting chips, analog devices, logic ICs and chips designed to be used in specific applications, all experienced steady growth compared to December.

Within the application-specific domain, worldwide sales of chips designed to be used in automotive applications grew strongly compared to December.

Euro-Dollar exchange rates did not affect the European sales picture as much as in previous months.  Still, some effects could be felt. Measured in Euro, semiconductor sales were 2.512 billion Euros in January 2016, down 0.6% versus the previous month and an increase of 4.0% versus the same month a year ago. On a YTD basis, semiconductor sales decreased by 0.3%.