Third Monthly Gain For Chip Market Reported


Unemployment continues to be intractably high. But chips are selling.

The Semiconductor Industry Association reported Friday the third month of improving chip sales driven by a solid rebound in the Asia-Pacific market.

Global sales rose 5.4 percent in May from April to $15.6 billion, the trade group said.

Granted, business is still down 23.2 percent from a year ago. But the rise suggests a steadily improving market and lifts hopes that end-of-year activity could show seasonal strength from the holidays.

The monthly increase in Asia-Pacific sales was 6.7 percent while in the Americas it was 3.9 percent.

The true test may not come for the market until late summer when companies decide how much product to build for the Christmas holidays.