KUALA LUMPUR: Global sales of semiconductors rose to US$16.5 billion in May, an increase of 5.4% from April when sales were US$15.6 billion, providing some cautious optimism to the industry.

The US-based Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported on July 3 that when compared with a year ago, May sales fell 23.2% from May 2008’s sales of US$21.5 billion. These sales numbers represented a three-month moving average of global semiconductor sales.

SIA president George Scalise said the May 2009 sales numbers reflect the third-consecutive month of sequential growth for the semiconductor industry.

“The sequential monthly increases lead us to be cautiously optimistic about a return to normal seasonal patterns for the industry going forward.”

Scalise noted 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 added.