Chip sales up in September

Global semiconductor sales reached a new high in September as electronics manufacturers geared up for the holiday season. Worldwide chip sales totaled US$21.4 billion in September, up 9.3 percent from the year-ago period and up 4.2 percent from August, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. Strong demand for consumer products such as cell phones, digital music players and personal computers drove chip sales higher during the month, said George Scalise, president of the association, in a statement. Worldwide chip sales rose 8 percent in the third quarter to $64.1 billion from $59.3 billion in the year-ago period. Cell phone sales stayed strong, especially in India and China. Demand for dynamic random access memory chips grew as PC manufacturers are producing systems designed for Microsoft's new OS called Vista