Worldwide sales of semiconductors declined by 2.4 percent in October to $22.5 billion compared to sales of $23.0 billion in October 2007, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported. October sales were 2.1 percent lower than the $23.0 billion in September 2008. Sales for the first ten months of 2008 were $216 billion, an increase of 2.6 percent from the first ten months of 2007 when sales were $210 billion. Excluding memory products, which have been under severe price pressure throughout 2008, industry sales increased by 3.8 percent compared to October 2007 but declined by 1.4 percent compared to September 2008.