The chip market is on the rebound, according to the latest figures released by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
The figures are for November, and show worldwide sales rose to $22.6 billion, up 3.7 percent compared to the previous month.
The good news is that sales in November 2009 were 8.5 percent higher than in November 2008.
The first 11 months of sales showed a bleaker aspect. Sales amounted to $202.1 billion, a fall over the previous year of 13.2 percent.
SIA president George Scalise said that for the first time in 2009 the figures were in “positive territory” compared to the previous year.
“2009 ended with sales of many IT and consumer products faring better than earlier projections. Sales of PCs continued to strengthen. The release of the Windows 7 operating system in October has been a positive factor. In the consumer space, there have been a few bright spots, including LCD TVs, which saw an increase of 25-30 percent in units in 2009,” Scalise said.
All territories and markets showed a positive rise month on month, but the European semi market and Japan continue to show signs of weakness, year on year.