Chip market explodes in August

Worldwide chip sales exceeded the $200 billion annual run rate for the second

consecutive month in August as average monthly shipments totaled $18.1 billion,

a whopping 53 per cent higher than the $11.9 billion in August 1999.

In July, sales were $17.3 billion. The exploding chip demand is driven by the

recovered Asian economy, particularly in the area of wireless communications.

Worldwide, it was the Internet equipment market that boosted chip sales.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced the latest chip

results. It said the market is on track to achieve a 30 per cent growth rate for

all of 2000.

The Asia-Pacific region grew 60.2 per cent from August a year ago, while

Japanese IC sales grew 53.7 per cent. The Americas rose 50.3 per cent and

Europe's sales climbed 46.4 per cent.

The SIA's Global Sales Report is based on the three-month average sales and

bookings from some 70 major chip producers who are supplying the SIA's World

Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization with their latest results.

The three-month moving average is a mathematical smoothing technique that takes

out variations due to companies' monthly financial calendars.