Global chip sales grow 5.4% in May

Worldwide sales of semiconductors saw a 5.4% month on month increase in May, marking the third month of sequential growth in a row, a leading US trade group said on Friday.

Global chip sales rose to 16.5 billion US dollars in May from 15.6 billion dollars in the previous month, according to latest numbers released by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), which is based in San Jose, California.

Though the May sales were 23.2 percent lower than the same month a year ago when the sales numbers were 21.5 billion dollars, the continuing sequential growth may be a sign of recovery for the semiconductor industry.

"The May sales numbers reflect the third consecutive month of sequential growth for the semiconductor industry," SIA president George Scalise said in a statement.

"The sequential monthly increases lead us to be cautiously optimistic about a return to normal seasonal patterns for the industry going forward," he added.

Scalise pointed out that as semiconductors become ever more pervasive in a growing array of products, the global microchip industry increasingly mirrors the performance of the overall economy.

"As consumer confidence returns and the economy resumes growth, we expect the industry to reflect those patterns," he said.

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