Chips sales up by 9.4% in May

It’s a great time to be a chip manufacturer. Everyone wants a new cell phone or other device, so chip demands is flying high. So high, in fact, that global chip sales in May were up 9.4% from the year before. Sales for the month were $19.7 billion, which was up nicely from $18.1 billion last year. Since consumer products are driving much of chip use, and the economies of much of the world are robust right now, it only makes sense that chip sales would mirror the global situation.

Both digital and analog chips used in phones were up, though analog chips jumped by more. Analog chips were up by 21.5% in the month, while digital chip sales increased by 13.7% in the same time. The dark side, if there is one, is PC microprocessor sales, which dropped by 2% from the previous year. An inventory correction and aggressive pricing are to blame for that situation.