LONDON — George Scalise, president of the US Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), reiterated that "visibility remains limited" for the global semiconductor market while welcoming the latest figures indicating that sales increased in April by 6.4 percent to $16.54 billion.

The three-month moving average figures, collated by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization also indicate April sales were 25 percent lower than April 2008, when sales were $20.9 billion.

"The better-than-expected 6.4 percent sequential increase in April sales was driven by moderate improvements in a number of end-demand drivers and inventory replenishment," said Scalise.

"Two consecutive months of sequential sales growth may be an indication of a return to more normal seasonal sales patterns in some market sectors, albeit at lower sales levels than last year," Scalise added.

The PC market has been stronger than predicted earlier in the year, Scalise commented. Consensus forecasts currently project that PC unit sales in 2009 will decline by about 6 percent compared to earlier forecasts of a decline in the range of 12 percent.

"Analysts are also more optimistic about cell phone unit sales, which are now projected to decline by around 7 percent compared to earlier forecasts of 15 percent. PCs and cell phones account for nearly 60 percent of all semiconductor consumption," Scalise stated.

The SIA also noted that the worldwide automotive market, which accounts for about 7 percent of total semiconductor sales, remains weak.

Corporate IT spending has also lagged normal patterns as companies have lengthened replacement cycles. The consumer electronics sector presents a mixed picture: analysts project increased unit sales of digital televisions and hand-held game players and lower unit sales of most other consumer electronics products.

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