Chip sales growing again

The increase reverses three months of sequential declines recorded by the SIA (San Jose, Calif.).

The organization says price pressures resulting from intense competition in major market segments such as DRAMs, DSPs and NAND flash limited industry growth despite higher unit shipments for these products in March.

DRAM sales declined by just over 8 percent from the last quarter of 2006, reflecting strong pricing pressure as units increased over 16 percent while average sales prices dipped close to 20 percent over the same time period.

Microprocessor revenues declined by nearly 13 percent from the prior quarter, reflecting a decline in unit sales while average sales prices remained almost unchanged.

First-quarter global chip sales reached $61.0 billion, a 3.2 percent increase from the $59.1 billion reported for the first quarter of 2006. Sales declined by 6.5 percent in the first quarter of 2007 compared to the $65.2 billion reported for the final quarter of 2006.