Worldwide sales of semiconductors of $59.1 billion in the first quarter of 2006 were 7.3 percent higher than first quarter of 2005 when global sales were $55.1 billion, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported today. First-quarter sales declined by 1.3% from the fourth quarter of 2005.

• March sales of $19.7 billion reflected an increase of 2.3 percent from February sales of $19.6 billion.
• “Very strong sales of cell phones were a major contributor to the year-on-year increase in microchip sales,” said SIA President George Scalise.
• Cell phones now represent the second-largest market, after personal computers, for semiconductors. Cell phones and PCs now account for more than half of all semiconductor sales.
• Scalise also noted that the replacement cycle for cell phones has declined from an average of 26 months to about 18 months
• Unit sales of personal computers increased by 13 percent in the first quarter of 2006 compared to the same quarter of 2005, according to IDC.
• capacity utilization continues to be above 90 percent.