The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) on Monday announced the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) for October.

FORBES: SIA: Optimism Amid a Downturn

"The WSTS numbers for November are historical data, " one London-based investment bank analyst told Reuters.

BBC: Semiconductor sales growth slows

Yesterday (Sept 9), the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) released the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) for July.

FORBES: SIA: July Semiconductor Revenues Slightly Up

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) posted the update of the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) on Monday.

FORBES: Semiconductors Positive in January

Semico, IC Insights, and the WSTS forecast were all continually decreased.

FORBES: A Review of Semiconductor Forecasts

So while the SIA tries to shine a positive light on the WSTS data, times are tough in the world of semiconductors, and they will get worse before they get better.

FORBES: SIA Announces January Semiconductor Sales, Down 8.8%

Second, it seems that Toshiba must have reported a significant decline in bit shipments to WSTS that caused this statistic to show lower bit growth than any of the companies that share their bit growth.

FORBES: Did Toshiba Really Cut NAND Flash Production?

Perhaps most interesting is that the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) which compiles numbers from all the charted companies except SanDisk showed aggregate bit growth lower than that of any of the companies on the chart.

FORBES: Did Toshiba Really Cut NAND Flash Production?

Based on the 3-month rolling average that WSTS (the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics) uses November sales were the highest month of the year and the first month of 2012 to come in higher than the same month of 2011.

FORBES: Future Tech