Chip Sales Soar for Gee-Whiz Gizmos

Electronics makers stock up now for a busy holiday season
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 3, 2007 12:43 AM CDT
Chip Sales Soar for Gee-Whiz Gizmos
Customers shop in the camera and electronics department at a Best Buy store in Glendale, Calif. Monday, Sept. 17, 2007. Best Buy Co. Inc., the nation's largest consumer electronics retailer on Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007 said second-quarter profits rose 8.7 percent on strong international results and tighter...   (Associated Press)

Electronics makers expect to sell lots of PCs, iPods and mobile phones this holiday season, judging by how many semiconductor chips they scooped up in August, PC World reports. Sales of global chips rose to $21.6 billion in August, a 4.5% increase over last year. August is the month that manufacturers stock up on chips to get ready for holiday demands.

This was the third month in a row that sales were higher than usual, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. About 40% of chips go into PCs, and rising demand for computers is one of the driving forces behind the strong sales growth. Also helping is a steep rise in the price of flash memory chips used to store songs and videos. (More computer chip stories.)

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