Mounting energy crisis could stall electronics industry

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported that chip sales rose 1.9 percent in July, and electronics suppliers such as Fairchild Semiconductor have noted that orders for semiconductors used in consumer electronics and computers have improved in recent weeks. But an SIA warning earlier this week that rising oil prices could put a year-end damper on chip sales will severely test the electronics industry’s ability to weather another socioeconomic and political crisis.

The economic impact of Hurricane Katrina will reverberate throughout the U.S. electronics industry for months.

EETimes