According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), January sales were up almost 4 percent year-on-year, but they are 3 percent down from December, which is in line with seasonal trends.

Although just 4 percent of growth doesn’t sound like much, and it isn’t, at least it is a positive trend. Since 2012 will go down in history as one of the worst years in the industry, anything in the black sounds good.

2013 promises to end on a positive note, with shipments projected to grow in the latter half of the year.