According to the latest report from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), chip sales growth was driven in October by strong demand for the processors used in PCs and consumer electronics, pushing worldwide semiconductor sales to $23.1 billion in October — a 5 percent rise in comparison with the same month last year.
Despite rising energy costs and other concerns, consumers continue to spend money on the latest electronics products, noted the trade association’s president, George Scalise, who pointed to the strong “Black Friday” sales reported by U.S. retailers for the first shopping day after Thanksgiving.
“At this point, it does not appear that reported declines in consumer confidence or other concerns have affected sales of electronic products,” Scalise noted. “We will be closely watching consumer sales of electronic products through the holiday season.”
Chip Industry’s Mantra
October’s healthy year-over-year growth came to pass in spite of the negative effects of chip price cuts, which are most dramatic in memory chips. Though RAM shipments have climbed by 55 percent so far this year, RAM pricing has risen only by 5 percent, Scalise noted.
A similar story has been unfolding in the processor segment due in large part to the intense price war between AMD and Intel. The SIA reported that revenue from microprocessors has risen only by 4 percent in the year to date, even though unit shipments are up by 15 percent. “Consumers are reaping huge benefits from continued rapid price attrition in key sectors of the semiconductor market,” Scalise said.
The SIA said chip sales for all of 2007 continue to track the trade association’s annual prognostication, which calls for 3.8 percent year-over-year growth. “This year the worldwide microchip industry will produce 900 million transistors for every man, woman, and child on earth,” Scalise claimed.
Continuous advances in microchip technology have made “faster, better, cheaper”…