According to the latest Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA) Electronic Component Sales Trends (ECST) survey, result for March show overall sentiment for electronic components fell by 2 points, ending three straight months of sales exceeding expectations.
The results fell to 88.6 points in March. During the three-month increase, the overall index improved by 32.6 points and hit 90.6 in February, the best reading since July 2022.
The good news is that electronic component sentiment is expected to stabilize with a small increase to 89.1 points for the April outlook, according to the ECIA.
Electro-mechanical components slipped substantially from February’s high of 99.9 points down to 92.7 points in March. Meanwhile, semiconductors saw improved results in March as the measure grew from 82.9 to 86.3 points. ECIA anticipates the improving index score will carry into April with expectations of a score of 90.0.
Other results of the survey found:
- Passive components managed to maintain a middle ground dipping just 2.1 points in March but will rebound in April to 90.5 points.
- Overall electronic component sentiment indicated ongoing sales declines.
- However, these results still point to a “soft landing” in this current cycle.
- End market results in March followed the same trend with an overall index dipping by 4.2 points.
- Medical electronics dropped below 100, typically a high scoring segment.
- Avionics, military, space, automotive and industrial were able to sustain scores over 100 points.
ECIA said the most positive news in the end market was the strong rebound of the three lowest scoring markets in computer, consumer and telecom mobile phones. The bad news is the most recent survey results for product lead time trends showed declining lead time sentiment improve from 37% to 43% and the combined stable to declining lead times improve from 90% to 96%.
About the ECIA ECST report
The ECST survey provides highly valuable and detailed visibility on industry expectations in the near-term through the monthly and quarterly surveys. This “immediate” perspective is helpful to participants up and down the electronics components supply chain. In the long-term, ECIA shares in the optimism for the future as the continued introduction and market adoption of exciting innovative technologies should motivate both corporate and consumer demand for next-generation products over the long term.
The complete ECIA ECST report is delivered to all ECIA members as well as others who participate in the survey. All participants in the electronics component supply chain are invited and encouraged to participate in the report so they can see the highly valuable insights provided by the ECST report.
The monthly and quarterly ECST reports present data in detailed tables and figures with multiple perspectives and covering current sales expectations, sales outlook, product cancellations, product decommits and product lead times. The data is presented at a detailed level for six major electronic component categories, six semiconductor subcategories and eight end markets. Also, survey results are segmented by aggregated responses from manufacturers, distributors and manufacturer representatives.
Interested in reading the entire ECST report? Click here for more info.
