2007 was not a brilliant year for the European components distribution which was 1.9 per cent down and ended with a 6 per cent fall in the fourth quarter.

But according to the semiconductor distributor and manufacturer association (DMASS), a downturn following 2006 was inevitable. "After the record year 2006, a cyclical slowdown was almost inevitable. I would call a decline of 1.9 per cent a comparably soft landing," said Ian Bass, chairman of DMASS.

Bass believed the downturn is not demand- or volume-driven but influenced by the weak US dollar. "There is a huge price difference between Europe and Asia, which leads to significant price pressure," said Bass.

The strongest European markets were Eastern Europe (up 15.9 per cent) and Benelux (up 15.5 per cent), followed by Switzerland (up 4.3 per cent) and Germany (up 0.2 per cent). In contrast, the UK market was 15.7 per cent down at €515m.

Eastern Europe has established itself as the third-largest market representing €594m, behind Germany at €1.74bn and Italy at €690m.

"The German market is now bigger than Italy, France and UK together," said Bass.