The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced worldwide sales of semiconductors totaled $96.8 billion during the first quarter of 2019, a decrease of 15.5 percent over the previous quarter and 13 percent less than the first quarter of 2018. Global sales for the month of March 2019 were $32.3 billion, a dip of 1.8 percent compared to the previous month’s total and 13 percent less than sales from March 2018. “Global semiconductor sales slowed during the first quarter of 2019, falling short of the previous quarter and Q1 of last year by double-digit percentages – said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO -. Sales in March decreased on a year-to-year basis across all major regional markets and semiconductor product categories, consistent with the cyclical trend the global market has experienced recently”. Regionally, sales increased slightly on a month-to-month basis in China (1.3 percent) and Europe (0.6 percent), but decreased in Asia Pacific/All Other (-1.9 percent), Japan (-4.5 percent), and the Americas (-6.7 percent). On a year-to-year basis, sales were down across all regional markets: Europe (-6.8 percent), Asia Pacific/All Other (-9.3 percent), China (-9.4 percent), Japan (-11.1 percent), and the Americas (-26.6 percent).
