Chip sales dip slightly in June

Chip sales dropped to $18 billion in June, a 0.5 percent decline from the $18.1 billion reported in May, according to the latest survey by the Semiconductor Industry Association. The trade group cited inventory adjustments and pricing changes in DRAM computer memory as the main culprits. Sales in the last three months came in at $53.9 billion, a 2.1 percent drop from the $55.1 billion reported in the first quarter.

Still, the group says it is encouraged by the larger picture. In the first six months of 2005, global chip sales totaled $109 billion, an increase of 6.5 percent over the first six months of 2004, when total sales were $102.4 billion. Chips used in PCs, mobile handsets, cars and modems did better than expected. The SIA now expects the strongest growth in 2005 to happen in the second half of the year.