by Peter Clarke, EETimes, Jul. 08, 2015 –
LONDON -- The difference between the contraction going on in the semiconductor market in Europe and Japan and the growth in the China, Americas and Asia-Pacific regions became more pronounced in the figures for May released by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
Globally the three-month average of the semiconductor market for May was $28.20 billion, up 5.1 percent compared with the same period in 2014. The weak performance by Europe and Japan -- with the two regions showing around a 10 percent contraction in the market size -- is largely due to weakness of the Euro and the Yen against the US dollar, the currency in which chip sales is traditionally measured.