Paris, May 29, 2023 – For the French semiconductor market, the year 2023 opened with a sixth consecutive quarter of growth with + 2%, according to Acsiel Alliance Electronique, with a record billing amount of €738 million. This growth is mainly due to sales via distribution (+15%). Direct sales to end customers overall experienced a one-off decline of 4%, which hides disparities since the automotive and industrial markets grew by around 10%. Year-on-year, growth in the total French market was 29% compared to the first quarter of 2022.

If we observe a slight slowdown in the rate of growth compared to previous quarters, it should be noted that the performance of the French market remains superior to that of the entire European market and even more so the global market. According to WSTS, the leading organization for global semiconductor market statistics, the European market enjoyed 3.1% growth in dollar terms in the first quarter, while at the same time the market grew French evaluated in dollars by Acsiel was 7.6% (taking into account a difference of approximately 5 percentage points due to the evolution of the €/$ exchange rates between Q4 2022 and Q1 2023). The global market for its part fell by 8.7% in the first quarter in dollars.

The outperformance of the French market is mainly explained by the predominant weight of the industrial and automotive segments which respectively represent 40% and 32% of the total while these segments are structurally in sustained growth, as well as by the dynamics of the aeronautical/space/defense markets. and smart card. Driven by these segments, the market index as a rolling annual average has been rising steadily for two years (see graph).

The global semiconductor market is not homogeneous. The decline in Asian markets is completely unrelated to persistent trends in the French market. The decline in global sales of PCs and smartphones is at the origin of the sharp decline in the Chinese semiconductor market while activity remains sustained in France in the automotive and industrial sectors.

This configuration logically leads Acsiel to emphasize that the relaxation observed in certain global electronic chip markets is not precisely on the agenda in France, at least not of a comparable magnitude. However, we are seeing fairly high inventory levels which could lead to clearances and a drop in demand in the months to come.