End market demand is improving. Using three countries that report monthly data as examples, the USA, Japan and Taiwan/China all showed an upward trend in recent months. The post-holiday seasonal downturn in Asia appears to have reversed, and U.S. electronic equipment orders rose significantly in March. The largest chip-consuming end markets (mobile phones and personal computers) both had a good first quarter. Cellphone shipments rose 26% in 1Q’06 vs. 1Q’05 and component suppliers for mobile handsets saw an upturn in March following a brief seasonal ‘correction.’ (The full report is available for download for free using the link below.)