The summer slump has hit electronic components sales sentiment in July, according to Electronic Component Sales Trends (ECST) from the Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA).
The good news is that despite the slump, the index fell just 12.5 points to 141.6 points, beating expectations from the previous month. A score of above 100 represents growth in the ECIA report.
The slump comes following a banner month in June, when the index reached a 5-year high. The July index is above the average of the prior 12 months and 28 points above August 2025, which is the lowest point in the prior 12 months.
August outlook
In August, electronic component sales sentiment is expected to post a 5.3 improvement to 146.9 points. Electro-mechanical components are expected to stay stable in both July and August, and passives are set to stabilize in August after falling 15 points in July."
Semiconductors, on the other hand, are experiencing volatile behavior in recent months, ECIA said. After a dramatic jump in scores in April and June, the index plunged 25 points to 140.0 in July. It is set to rebound by about 13 points to 152.9 points in August, ECIA forecasts.
An average index above 133 points over the past 13 months demonstrates strong ongoing confidence in the market.
Source: ECIA
End market comparisons
While manufacturer representatives and distributors’ index scores in the past two months have been fairly aligned, manufacturers are pessimistic by comparison, ECIA said.
Overall, the end market expectations for August are lower than the rest of the market by about 18 points. Despite this difference, all but two product sub-segments from end-markets are expected to end up strongly above the 100-point threshold for the June, July and August outlooks. The two sub-segments that will lag are mobile phones and consumer electronics.
Lead time pressure grows
In July, ECIA found that lead times are growing again after an easing in June. Lead time pressure has increased to 82% of survey respondents. In the semiconductor sector, 100% of survey respondents reports lead time increases.
Those reporting a decrease in lead times dropped to 0% in every major category in July, ECIA said.
While confidence remains strong in electronic components sales sentiment despite economic concerns, lead times growing is something that needs to be monitored.
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.
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 components 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 outlooks, 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 information.
