Chip Sales Drop 20% in May From Year Ago

Worldwide semiconductor sales fell 20% to $12.71 billion in May from a year ago, continuing the downward trend that began in November, the Semiconductor Industry Assn. said. Sales were off 7.3% from April.

Compared with last year, sales fell 32% in the Americas and were down 17% in Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region.

As the economy bottoms out and excess inventory is depleted, the industry probably will pull out of its current slump over the next several months, said SIA President George Scalise.

“We continue to believe that the industry will continue to see the final phases of the inventory correction late in the third quarter,” he said, adding that a broader recovery is expected in the fourth quarter.