Worldwide sales of semiconductors reached 43.3 billion US dollars in the third quarter ending Sept. 30, up 17.5 percent over the same period a year ago, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported Sunday.

The third quarter sales figure also represents a 13.7 percent sequential rise over the second quarter of 2003, said SIA, a Silicon Valley based trade group representing more than 85 percentof the US semiconductor industry.

The trade group attributed increased revenues in the third quarter to strong sales in September, during which global chip sales soared to 14.4 billion dollars, up 6.5 percent from 13.6 billion dollars in August, registering the strongest monthly percentage change since 1990.

"September and third quarter data confirm that demand in the global semiconductor market is rising briskly," said SIA PresidentGeorge Scalise. "Performance is strong in all major market sectors-- computation, communications and consumer, indicating a solid, continuing and broad-based growth cycle."

Personal computers, accounting for 30 percent of the end-market,drove growth in the third quarter, producing a 33.2 percent rise in DRAMs and a 23.9 percent rise in microprocessors (MPUs).

"The better than expected 7.2 percent rise in GDP for the thirdquarter," Scalise said, "was driven by a combination of a record 6.6 percent increase in consumer outlays, and strong business spending, as investment in computers and software rose 15.4 percent,after an 8.3 percent gain in the year's second quarter."

SIA said that in the third quarter flash memory sales grew 27.2percent and Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) were up 20.3 percent,driven by strong growth in cell phones, which account for 12 percent of end-market demand.

"The consumer sector, some 17 percent of the market, is expanding across the globe with new applications and multi-functional devices. Optoelectronics were up 14.6 percent and Application Specific Standardized Products (ASSPs) were up 17.2 percent this quarter," SIA said in a statement.

In the third quarter, sales in Asia Pacific rose 19.1 percent, Europe was up 12.0 percent, Japan up 11 percent and the Americas 8.6 percent over the second quarter this year, according to SIA.

"Solid growth across all four geographic markets positions the industry for revenue growth exceeding 10 percent in 2003, followedby stronger double-digit growth in 2004," Scalise said.

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