Strong Chip Sales in U.S., Asia Lift Industry in July

Strong chip sales in the Asia Pacific region and the United States helped lift global sales to US$20.1 billion in July, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

The figure represents an 11.5 percent increase over July 2005, and is 1.8 percent higher than the $19.8 billion in sales registered in June, according to SIA.

The industry association also noted that falling chip prices are helping pull down the cost of gadgets for end users. “For example, the average selling price for a PC declined by approximately 7 percent year-over-year,” SIA noted in its report. About 40 percent of all chips sold go into computer products.

A price war between Intel and Advanced Micro Devices could be a large part of the fall in PC prices. The companies both halved prices on some desktop PC microprocessors, the most expensive PC component, in July.

The global chip industry remains on course to set record-high sales this year of more than $240 billion, the industry group said, thanks to strong growth in the Asia Pacific and the United States. But the figure the SIA noted is lower than its May forecast calling for $250 billion in chip sales this year.

SIA representatives were not available to comment on the apparent full-year sales target discrepancy.

-Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service (Taipei Bureau)

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