Longer lead times and price hikes likely to dominate 1H2021 The European semiconductor distribution market seems to have seen the worst back in 2020 and a return to growth is highly likely in 2021. With COVID-19 impact easing and a return to strong growth in Asia driving component demand, the demand in Europe is growing too. However, Q4/2020 still resulted in a slight decline. According to DMASS Ltd., sales in the European Semiconductor Distribution Market fell by 3.8% to EUR 1.86 billion. The full year ended with -12.4% and total sales of EUR 7.72 billion. “While the 2nd wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is still in full swing and transportation hurdles make it difficult to get high-tech goods into Europe in time, the demand of customers – particularly in the automotive sector – is growing strongly. Longer lead times and price increases from manufacturers will likely dominate the first half of 2021. It remains to be seen if the extremely high bookings level is sustainable beyond summer,” says Georg Steinberger, chairman of DMASS, in a press release