Home, Portable Audio Sales Up In November
By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 1/29/2007
ARLINGTON, VA. — Factory-level audio sales increased 19.2 percent in November to $1.49 billion, led by strong home and portable audio growth that countered after-market autosound's continued precipitous slide, Consumer Electronics Association statistics show.
Year-to-date sales through November were up 8.2 percent to $9.64 billion, with iPod-driven sales of portable audio accounting for 57 percent of total audio volume.
Home components continued their comeback in November, when a 54.9 percent gain to $134.7 million helped boost 11-month sales by 23.3 percent to $1.05 billion. Home audio systems also showed strength following months of declines. System sales for the month rose 16.4 percent to $194 million, but 11-month volume was down 7.2 percent to $1.16 billion.
Portable audio sales, led by Apple's iPods, continued to post sharp gains in November, when sales rose 27.2 percent to $936.5 million and helped boost year-to-date sales by 19.2 percent to $5.53 billion.
Sales of after-market autosound, which includes all satellite radio, fell 13.6 percent in November to $224 million, with 11-month sales declining by 12.4 percent to $1.89 billion.
