LAS VEGAS, Jan. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Sales of consumer electronics in the United States continued its rapid growth in 2004 and will keep the momentum in 2005 to hit a record high of 125.7 billion US dollars, said the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) on Tuesday.

    The figure represents an 11-percent increase over 2004, building on a growth of the same rate in 2004 from 2003, the CEA said in its bi-annual US Consumer Electronics Sales and Forecasts report.

    The report was released by Sean Wargo, the CEA Director of Industry Analysis, ahead of the 2005 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world's largest annual technology tradeshow to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada on Jan. 6-9.

    The CEA said the estimated US consumer electronics sales in 2004 exceeded initial expectations, by reaching 113.5 billion dollars, the first year consumer electronics sales passed the 100-billion-dollar mark.

    "These numbers reflect that consumer electronics is a hot industry," said CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro.

    "Consumer electronics sales continue to surpass our expectations and break existing records year after year, because this is an ever-changing industry that delivers innovative products that enhance consumers' lives. American consumers love consumer electronics products. That passion is reflected in the continued sales growth of our industry," he said.

    Digital television (DTV) continued to be a front-runner in 2004.A total of 7.3 million DTV units were sold in 2004, an increase of63 percent over 2003, while the total sales reached 10.7 billion dollars, up 78 percent.

    One of the biggest drivers of digital television is flat-panel,ultra-thin displays -- LCD and plasma, the report said.

    Total sales of LCD TVs -- analog and digital -- topped 2 billion dollars in 2004 and will surpass 3 billion dollars in 2005.Plasma TVs will experience a similar growth as unit sales reached 853,000 dollars in 2004 and are expected to surpass 1.4 million units in 2005.

    The growth of portable MP3 players and after-market autosound helped boost audio sales in 2004. The sales of portable MP3 players has shattered all expectations as unit sales more than doubled in 2004 to over 6.9 million units, with revenues nearly tripling to 1.2 billion dollars.

    Growth in the sales of portable MP3 players is expected to continue in 2005 as the CEA forecasts unit sales will reach 10 million with revenues of 1.7 billion dollars.

    Flash media has become one of the biggest growth categories as digital content continues to grow with more usage of digital cameras and MP3 players, the CEA report said. Flash media cards sales in 2004 were estimated at 3 billion dollars, and could double next year.

    Sales of personal computers remained strong in 2004, which witnessed a 10-percent increase to a record of 17.2 billion dollars. And they are expected to increase to 18 billion dollars in 2005.

    A total of 79.6 million units of wireless telephones were sold in 2004, a 15-percent increase from 2003, and unit sales are expected to grow to 89.2 million in 2005 with revenues hitting a new high of 11.3 billion dollars.

    The CEA, host of the annual International CES, is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the consumer technology industry through technology policy, events, research, promotion and the fostering of business and strategic relationships.

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