german chip sales seen weaker in second half -zvei
German chip sales seen weaker in second half -ZVEI September 14, 2004 5:20am ET (Reuters)
FRANKFURT, Sept 14 (Reuters) - German semiconductor sales are likely to be weaker in the second half of 2004 than they were in the first half, electronics industry association ZVEI said on Tuesday, after domestic sales growth slowed in August.
ZVEI said August sales were 8 percent higher than in the year-ago period, following an increase of 12 percent year-on-year in July and 18 percent in June.
"Growth in Germany is clearly flattening out and the indications of a weaker second half are getting stronger," ZVEI said in a statement.
"The upswing phase will be shorter than expected and the envisaged double-digit percentage growth for 2004 is cast into doubt. Clearly, outsourcing of production abroad is having a greater effect," it added.
Germany's biggest chipmaker, Infineon -- like other chipmakers around the world -- is buying an increasing proportion of its chips from contract suppliers in Asia to cut costs in a fiercely competitive market.
Research group Gartner sees global semiconductor sales growing by 27 percent to $226 billion this year, and the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics group predicts growth of 28.4 percent.
Germany's book-to-bill ratio fell for a fourth consecutive month in August to 0.96, ZVEI said, meaning 4 percent fewer new orders were taken than sales booked.
