Has the chip market finally stabilised? The US-based Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) thinks it might have.
“The modest sequential rebound in worldwide sales in March suggests that demand has stabilized somewhat, albeit at substantially lower levels than last year,” said SIA president George Scalise.
SIA figures for March show a 3.3% increase on February.
“While all major product sectors showed month-on-month 
growth, there continues to be limited visibility in end markets,” said Scalise.
Sales for the first quarter of $44bn were 29.9% down on the first quarter of 2008. They were also 15.7% worse than the fourth quarter of 2008.
“There are no clear signs of early firming of demand in major end markets such as automotive, corporate information technology, and consumer electronics,” said Scalise.