European Semiconductor Distribution (DMASS)

Takes a Double-Digit Hike in Fourth Quarter

DMASS reports 14.2% growth in semiconductor distribution for Q4/CY18. Smaller countries and Eastern Europe benefit over-proportionally. MOS Micro and Optoelectronics below average.

London, February 13, 2019 – After a very positive, double-digit 2017, the European semiconductor distribution industry marched on another solid growth path throughout 2018. In the 4th quarter of 2018, semiconductor distribution sales according to DMASS Ltd., grew by 14.2% to 2.3 Billion Euro. For the total year, DMASS reported semiconductor sales of 9.2 Billion Euro, an increase of 8.2% compared to 2017.

Georg Steinberger, chairman of DMASS: “9.2 Billion Euro is the highest distribution sales ever reported in Europe. Given that the exchange rate effects at the beginning of 2018 had quite an influence, we conclude that distribution share of the total market remained stable, against all odds. In US Dollars, DMASS grew in 2018 by 13.1%, pretty much in line with the total market. What is quite surprising is the fact that all four quarters of 2018 ended almost at the same sales level.”

By country and region, the growth rates in Q4/2018 ranged from basically flat (Rest of Europe) to over 40% (Sweden). Of the major regions, Nordic and the UK(!) grew fastest, followed by Eastern Europe, Russia, Iberia and Benelux. Germany grew by 10.3% to 662 Million Euro, Italy by 8.5% to 183 Million Euro, the UK by 21.7% to 173 Million Euro, France by 11.1% to 160 Million Euro, Eastern Europe by 18.1% to 374 Million Euro and Nordic by 27% to 234 Million Euro.

Georg Steinberger: “If we forget about special effects like the Brexit, the long-term trend is clearly towards countries with a huge manufacturing or contract manufacturing base, which clearly puts lower-cost regions in Eastern Europe and to some extent in the South at an advantage.”

On the product side, most technologies grew double digit in Q4, except Optoelectronics and MOS Micro, which both seem to trail the overall trend throughout the year. Discretes, Power Discretes, Sensors, Analog, Memories and Logic in general, however, had a very healthy quarter. On a yearly basis, Discretes grew by 21.5% to 552 Million Euro, Power Discretes by 15.3% to 972 Million Euro, Sensors and Actuators by 14.5% to 226 Million Euro, Opto by 1.1% to 853 Million Euro, Analog by 6.8% to 2.7 Billion Euro, Memories by 9.6% to 774 Million Euros, MOS Micro (incl. Processors and DSPs) by 5.7% to 1.87 Billion Euro, Progammable Logic by 7.5% to 611 Million Euro and Other Logic (ASSPs) by 6.7% to 479 Million Euro. Standard Logic finally ended 13.4% higher at 157 Million Euro.

Georg Steinberger: “Solid growth in almost all fields is clearly showing that 2018 was driven by overall customer demand across all industry segments, While MOS Micro sees a generation change to higher end solutions, LEDs are particularly suffering from a weakness in the automotive sector. All in all, a surprisingly good year that saw a few extra influences like the weak US Dollar at the beginning of the year and a few channel shift decisions towards the end. Since our market grew by almost a quarter in 2 years, helped by allocation and pricing, the question remains now what happens going forward. In 2019, the struggle for distribution will be to keep the positive trend.”

DMASS Ltd. reports to members only statistics on Interconnect, Passive Components, Electromechanical Components and Power Supplies (IPE).

About DMASS

DMASS, a European non-profit organisation, is the only industry body that collates detailed semiconductor distribution market data on a quarterly basis by country and product groups such as microcontrollers, flash memories, analog components and many more. DMASS figures are collected and consolidated by Data Dynamics Ltd.

DMASS, founded in 1989, provides its members with a reliable statistical tool to evaluate their relative mass-market performance. The organisation consists of 36 active members in 2018 and represents between 80% and 85% of the total European distribution market, depending on the regions. To continuously increase its European market coverage, DMASS welcomes new membership applications from distributors and semiconductor manufacturers.