The latest Electronic Component Sales Trends (ECST) survey from the Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA) found while April was the second continuous month of lower-than-expected sales for electronic components, an easing may be coming in the months to come.
According to Dale Ford, chief analyst for ECIA, this may be an early indicator that the market decline could see a turnaround in year-over-year performance before the end of 2023. The month of May looks to be brighter for sale sentiment of electronic components with the forecast for it to jump above 99, almost up to the breakeven level between declining and improving sales, ECIA said.
Ford said last year component sales sentiment index dropped below 100 in June 2022. If expectations in May of this year are realized, it would mark the strongest measurement since May 2022 when results of 117.6 were reported prior to the 20-point drop in June of 2022.
Passives up, others down
The sentiment index for passive components had the strongest results in April with a score of 94. In May, passive sale sentiment potentially could move further into positive territory with expectations about the 104.5 level, solidly above the 100 threshold.
Meanwhile, electromechanical components saw sale sentiment decline slightly in April but again May is expected to be an improvement of about 9 points to 98.5. Semiconductors fell below 77 in April with three of four semiconductor segments reporting a sharp decline in April. Only discretes improved on results. However, once again expectations show three of the four semiconductor subsegments improving in May. Only the MCU/MPU subcategory will have declining expectations for the month.
End-market results are encouraging with strong improvement in April and a May index outlook looking above 100. Markets expected to be above 100 in May include:
- Automotive
- Industrial
- Military/aerospace
- Medical
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.
