SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 3 -- Worldwide sales of semiconductors in October rose to $10.43 billion, a month-to-month increase of 2.5% from $10.18 billion in September, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said. This is the fourth consecutive month that the month-to-month sales improved and the first month since November 2000 with sequential growth. September sales were 2.5% below those in August. "The October sales are another indication that the industry is on track to achieve our forecast of 4.7% growth in the fourth quarter," said George Scalise, SIA president. "All geographic markets with the exception of Japan had sales increases in the period, led by the US, which was up 5.1%. Increases in unit demand for a broad cross section of products are being driven by personal computers, cell phones and related communication products, along with a variety of consumer devices."