Chip Sales Slow in Tent City

January is historically a relatively weak month for the semiconductor industry, so the fact that the industry suffered a decline in world-wide sales last month isn’t unusual or shocking. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the depth of that decline, which was nothing short of grotesque.

World-wide semiconductor sales fell 29 percent in January to $15.3 billion, compared to the year-earlier period, the Semiconductor Industry Association said Monday. A precipitous drop and one that was felt across the entire range of semiconductor products–computers, cars cellphones and whatnot.

And that is grim news indeed. Because the semiconductor sector is typically among the first industries to recover ahead of a broader market turnaround. This latest report suggests a recovery is likely much farther off than we’d hoped.