November 3, 2005 – Worldwide semiconductor manufacturers shattered all-time records in September, displaying surprising strength in the face of concerns over consumer demand and rising energy prices, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

Actual chip sales in September totaled a record $23.17 billion, up 24.0% from August and 8.1% higher than September 2004. Calculated using a three-month average to smooth out cyclical volatility, chipmakers still posted sales of $19.55 billion, a jump of 5.2% sequentially and 5.6% from a year ago.

For 3Q05, actual chip sales totaled $58.7 billion, up 8.9% from the 53.87 billion in 2Q05 and 5.6% from $55.56 billion in 3Q04. Through the first nine months of 2005, actual chip sales totaled $167.6 billion, an increase of 6% from the same period in 2004.

By region, Europe paced the growth in September chip sales (6.9%), followed by the Americas (6.3%). Japan followed the pack with 2.8% growth. Year-on-year, the Asia-Pacific region remains hot (16.9% growth, with the Americas roughly flat (0.8%), and Europe and Japan contracting slightly.

The impact of rising energy prices and declining consumer confidence may not be fully known until after the holiday period at the end of the current quarter, but based on chip sales in September, consumer electronics demand seems to have stayed strong despite events such as Katrina and the big spike in oil and gas prices. SIA president George Scalise pointed to “very strong” chip sales across most major product lines in September, with 3Q sales of PCs surpassing expectations with 17% growth vs. 2004, and cell phone unit sales rising 20% over the same period.