April Chip Sales Less Awful Than Usual

A bit of good news today amid the chip industry’s seemingly endless procession of bad.

Sales of semiconductors rose 6.4 percent globally from March to April to $15.6 billion, according to the latest metrics from the Semiconductor Industry Association (click on the chart below).

But at $15.6 billion, they were still about 25 percent below the $20.9 billion reported last April. So while a better month than March, April is still a tremendous disappointment–although the SIA is hoping it signals a return to normal sales patterns, albeit at a lower level.

“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 SIA President George Scalise. “The PC market–a major consumer of semiconductors–has been stronger than predicted earlier in the year.”

Good news for chip vendors like Intel (INTC) and AMD (AMD), right? One question, though: Since when is inventory replenishment growth?