Strong sales of cell phones drove the increase, said George Scalise, president of San Jose, California-based SIA.
Cell phone unit sales increased by 31% from the first quarter of 2005 and ran substantially ahead of expectations, Scalise said, in a statement. Unit sales are now expected to reach one billion this year.
Scalise cited a substantially shorter replacement cycle and very robust demand in China as reasons for the cell phone growth.
China currently has about 410 million cell phone subscribers and is adding 5 million new subscribers a month, Scalise said. And the replacement cycle has declined from an average of 26 months to about 18 months, as manufacturers offer new, smaller products with more functionality.
PC unit sales also grew, by 13%, compared to a year ago. Microprocessor sales grew 6.8% to $8.83bn.
