LONDON — The three-month moving average of worldwide sales of semiconductors declined by 2.4 percent in October to $22.47 billion compared to sales of $23.03 billion in October 2007, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), which referenced World Semiconductor Trade Statistics as its source.

October sales were 2.1 percent lower than the $23.0 billion in September 2008. Sales for the first ten months of 2008 were $216 billion, an increase of 2.6 percent from the first ten months of 2007 when sales were $210 billion. Excluding memory products, which have been under severe price pressure throughout 2008, industry sales increased by 3.8 percent compared to October 2007 but declined by 1.4 percent compared to September 2008.

Sales of both DRAMs and NAND flash declined significantly year-on-year due to pricing pressure. DRAM sales in October were 14 percent lower than one year ago while NAND flash sales were off by nearly 41 percent - over the same time period DRAM 1-Gbit equivalent units increased 73 percent while sales of 2-Gbit equivalent NAND units grew 123 percent.

"The slowdown in worldwide semiconductor sales that became evident in September continued in October," said SIA president George Scalise. "The worldwide financial turmoil is expected to continue to impact demand for semiconductors as we enter 2009. For 2009 PC unit shipments are forecast to decline by 5 percent and cell phone unit shipments are projected to be down by 9 percent. PCs and cell phones account for approximately 60 percent of total demand for semiconductors."