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Technology Stocks : C-Cube -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Rieman who wrote (24937)	11/6/1997 11:33:00 PM
From: CPAMarty	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Chip Sales Hit 19-Month High (11/06/97; 2:10 p.m. EST) By J. Robert Lineback, Semiconductor Business News Worldwide semiconductor sales reached their highest levels in 19 months in September, climbing to $11.797 billion, a 14.7 percent increase over $10.290 billion in the same month last year, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). The SIA's latest global sales report shows chip revenues increased 1.6 percent in September, compared with $11.607 billion in August, based on a three-month rolling average. In the Americas, semiconductor billings totaled $3.933 billion in September, a 20.1 percent increase over $3.275 billion in the same month last year, but a rise of just 1.9 percent from $3.858 billion in August. SIA officials said the new sales figures show the 1997 semiconductor recovery gaining momentum. "The September results are in line with the 1997-to-2000 worldwide forecast we released last week, which calls for industry growth of 5.5 percent in 1997 and 16.8 percent in 1998," said George Scalise, SIA president. Last week, the SIA predicted global chip sales would reach $162.6 billion, based on a forecast by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization. The forecast is predicated on a significant rebound in DRAM<Picture> markets. Last year, semiconductor revenues slipped 8.6 percent to $131.9 billion. After a sluggish start to 1997, chip sales have gained momentum and pushed ahead of last year's totals, but the month-to-month gains have slowed recently, causing some analysts to worry about the coming months. In San Jose, Calif., however, the SIA is confident that the industry will continue to gain strength. "The 1997 recovery continues to pick up steam, thanks to continue expansion of the personal computer market, growth of telecommunications, and surging interest in the Internet," Scalise said. Despite recent financial turmoil in Asia, the Pacific Rim regional markets showed the strongest gains in September over the previous year, according to the SIA report. Asia-Pacific chip sales reached $2.677 billion in September, up 22.4 percent over $2.186 billion in September 1996, the report said. Compared with August, the region's semiconductor revenues grew 3.9 percent in September. In Europe, chip sales grew 15.7 percent to $2.373 billion in September, compared with $2.050 billion in the same month last year. Compared with August, Europe's September sales total was 4.4 percent higher. The Japanese chip market continues to suffer, however. The SIA report said Japan's semiconductor market rose just 1.3 percent to $2.815 billion in September, compared with $2.779 billion last year. Compared with August, chip sales in Japan dropped 2.9 perce