Sales of SmartMedia, CompactFlash Rise Steeply in First Half of FY99, JEIDA Says
November 16, 1999 (TOKYO) -- Sales of small cards such as SmartMedia and CompactFlash were brisk in the first half of fiscal 1999 due to the spread of digital cameras in Japan, the Japan Electronic Industry Development Association (JEIDA) said.
JEIDA announced results of deliveries of PC cards and small-sized memory cards it defined as "small cards" during the first half of fiscal 1999 (April-September).
In terms of both units and value, the figures surpassed those of the same period a year ago. Among various products, sales of small cards, including the SmartMedia and CompactFlash, are brisk due to the wide spread of digital cameras.
The sales of small cards more than doubled for the same period year-on-year. The increase in shipments of small cards led to an increase in deliveries of PC cards that are used to connect a small card with a PC.
JEIDA separately calculated shipments and the value of PC cards and small cards in three categories. They are: (1) cards that support the PC card standards, (2) cards with proprietary standards and those that do not support the PC card standards but are the same size as a PC card, and (3) small cards, or small-sized memory cards that do not belong to the above two categories.
Total shipments of memory cards that belong to any of the above three categories during the first half of fiscal 1999 were 7,995,000, up 88 percent year-on-year for the same period last year, and 32,902 million yen, up 23 percent). (104.72 yen = US$1)
Marking the largest growth in sales, small card quantities sold totaled 5,240,000, up 155 percent year-on-year for the same period of the previous fiscal year. Sales reached 17,826 million yen, up 113 percent. JEIDA estimates that sales of those cards will remain firm in the second half of fiscal 1999.
Related story: Japan's Compact Flash Card Business to Expand 60 Pct. in FY99: JEIDA
(BizTech News Dept.)
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