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Local chipmakers cheer sales figures: Semiconductor industry appears to have started gradual global recovery [The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash.]
(Columbian (Vancouver, WA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jul. 4--In what is viewed as good news for Clark County's computer chip-related businesses, worldwide sales of semiconductors rose to $16.5 billion in May, an increase of 5.4 percent from April when sales were $15.6 billion.
According to the Semiconductor Industry Association in San Jose, Calif., May sales were 23.2 percent lower than May 2008 when sales were $21.5 billion.
All sales numbers represent a three-month moving average of global semiconductor sales.
"The May sales numbers reflect the third-consecutive month of sequential growth for the semiconductor industry," said SIA President George Scalise. "The sequential monthly increases lead us to be cautiously optimistic about a return to normal seasonal patterns for the industry going forward."
Several businesses with a combined work force of nearly 3,000 people make computer chips or materials for the chip industry in the county. WaferTech operates a chip foundry in Camas. SEH America Inc. in Vancouver is a major silicon wafer supplier to chip producers such as Intel Corp. and Texas Instruments.
Scalise said that as semiconductors become ever-more pervasive in a growing array of products such as cell phones and iPods, 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," Scalise concluded.
Intel shares closed at $16.72 on Thursday, down 32 cents on the day. The chipmaker's share price has traded as high as $24.75 in the past 52 weeks and as low as $12.05.
The SIA report is a three-month moving average of chip sales activity.
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