Troubled Outlook: Semiconductor Sales Down 5% in 2012

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The representing body of the chip industry, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), reported a disappointing result for August 2012.

The organization said that global semiconductor sales were $24.30 billion in August, or about 0.1 percent above the July result of $24.27 billion.  Compared to August 2011, sales declined by 3.2 percent from $25.1 billion. For the year, chip sales are down 4.6 percent.

"Global semiconductor sales have held steady in recent months despite strong macroeconomic headwinds, but these challenges have hampered growth," said Brian Toohey, president and CEO of the SIA, in a statement. "With Election Day fast approaching, candidates should have a vigorous discussion about enacting government policies to reduce business uncertainty, accelerate the economic recovery and keep America at the forefront of innovation."

According to the organization chip sales declined across all geographic regions year over year, with substantyial drops taking place in Europe and the Americas.

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Wolfgang Gruener
8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • thecolorblue
    less innovation + prices too high = stagnation

    why upgrade?
    Reply
  • ojas
    oh noes the pc is dead

    but oh wait icrap has semiconductors too

    so if PCs are dead already then does this mean mobile devices aren't selling too well either?

    Oh noes the world has gone to hell! 5%!

    #tiredOfTheseArticlesNow
    Reply
  • jwcalla
    ojasoh noes the pc is deadbut oh wait icrap has semiconductors tooso if PCs are dead already then does this mean mobile devices aren't selling too well either?Oh noes the world has gone to hell! 5%!#tiredOfTheseArticlesNow
    Yeah but mobile SoCs sell for about $25 and x86 chips for $200. So you'd almost have to sell 10 mobile devices per x86 chip just to make up for any slack in desktop demand.
    Reply
  • ojas
    jwcallaYeah but mobile SoCs sell for about $25 and x86 chips for $200. So you'd almost have to sell 10 mobile devices per x86 chip just to make up for any slack in desktop demand.That was a "i don't care" kind of statement man...lol it doesn't deserve a serious answer :D
    Reply
  • every 8 years this industry craps out, nothing new here. You would think the big wigs in the industry would plan better for this cycle, nope dummies. Here we are at the 4 year mark and i assure you the big picture isnt on their agenda
    Reply
  • alidan
    jwcallaYeah but mobile SoCs sell for about $25 and x86 chips for $200. So you'd almost have to sell 10 mobile devices per x86 chip just to make up for any slack in desktop demand.
    no... my god no... do you not understand proffit margin? r&d recoping?
    what i want to know is what the proffit per chip is, and the r&d you have to recope for each.
    Reply
  • jwcalla
    alidanno... my god no... do you not understand proffit margin? r&d recoping?what i want to know is what the proffit per chip is, and the r&d you have to recope for each.
    What is your point? The article is about revenue (i.e., sales). Profit was never discussed.
    Reply
  • alidan
    jwcallaWhat is your point? The article is about revenue (i.e., sales). Profit was never discussed.
    point i was trying to make is that a 25$ chip doesn't need to sell 8 of itself to equal a 200$ chip. the 200$ chip may be in the hole 1 billion $ due to r&d and is only pulling a small profit per chip while the 25$ chip may only be in the hole 100 million and is pulling about the same profit per chip as the 200$ one.
    Reply