Situation of the French Semiconductor Market in Q3 2016

Paris, December 23, 2016 – As we predicted in the previous Press Release, and although semiconductor manufacturers and suppliers in France managed to stay on course in the first half of 2016, the third quarter saw a downturn in the market.
Alas, this correction leads to an alignment with the annual trend of the global market.

For the third quarter of 2016, ACSIEL’s Semiconductor Club reports a decline of -7%, and in its analysis of the total market, including sales to OEMs and to the retail sector, estimates a drop compared with the previous quarter of roughly the same order.

The breakdown of sales in France between the two channels of direct sales to OEMs and distribution sales was 71.7% and 28.3% respectively; quarter-on-quarter, there was a sequential decline in both direct and distribution sales.
By product family, only Discrete components (weak signals and optoelectronics) posted slight growth.

All market segments showed a more or less substantial decline compared with the previous quarter. The Industrial sector was the only one to fare well, with significant quarter-on-quarter growth and a sequential increase in sales.

Unsurprisingly, the three leading sectors remain, by market share: Automotive (28.7%), Industrial & Mil-Aero (23.2%) and chips for inserters (17.2%).

It’s worth noting, however, the growing importance of Industrial every quarter, a sign of hope for the years to come.