Chip Sales Expected to Rise 19% in 2004

Global semiconductor sales will rise 19% this year on higher demand for chips used in mobile devices, personal computers and recordable DVD players, the Semiconductor Industry Assn. said.

Semiconductor sales increased 18% to $166.4 billion in 2003 from $140.8 billion in 2002, the San Jose-based industry group said. Chip revenue jumped 28% in December from a year earlier.

In the fourth quarter, global chip revenue rose to $48.1 billion from $43.3 billion in the third quarter.

Memory chips and microprocessors used in PCs were the biggest contributors to growth in the period.