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September world chip sales rise 6.5%

Accelerating growth

The chip business' fortunes have cycled round to a more positive time, if the latest figures from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) are anything to go by. The each month's increase in sales over the previous month does appear to be accelerating.

September's worldwide chip sales totalled $14.4 billion, up 6.5 per cent from August's $13.6 billion total, itself up four per cent on July's figure of $12.9 billion. During the first six months of 2003, the monthly sales total hovered around the $12.3 billion mark.

For the three months through to the end of September, chip sales reached $43.3 billion, up 17.5 per cent on Q3 2002 and up 13.7 per cent on Q2 2003's $38.1 billion. Sales in Q1 totalled $36.4 billion.

The SIA identified increasing demand for PCs as the quarter's key driver. Memory chip sales rose 33.2 per cent during the quarter, while processor sales jumped 23.9 per cent. The PC arena represents 30 per cent of the end-user market for semiconductors, so recovery there is essential to the revitalisation of the chip business.

Quarterly sales in Asia Pacific rose 19.1 per cent, Europe was up 12 per cent, Japan 11 per cent and the Americas 8.6 per cent over Q2. ®

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