Manufacturer-to-dealer sales of audio products took a turn for the better during the month of September, according to figures released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

Total revenues for the month reached more than $707 million, a slight increase compared to the same period in 2002. Overall category sales were given a boost from strong sales of portable audio products and, in particular, MP3 players.

Portable audio product revenues showed a 24 percent increase compared to September of 2002, pushing factory-to-dealer sales to nearly $260 million, thanks in part to impressive sales of both MP3 players and CD/MP3 combinations. Manufacturer-to-dealer sales of MP3 players increased some 258 percent over the same period in 2002 to generate more than $82 million in revenues. Sales of portable CD/MP3 player combinations reached more than $223 million with an increase of 21 percent over 2002.

Audio systems sales ended the month of September with $183 million in revenues - a modest gain of nearly two percent over the same period in 2002. The slight increase in systems revenues is due in large part to the continued growth of home-theater-in-a-box sales, which improved by nearly 18 percent over 2002 to more than $110 million. Year-to-date figures show home-theater-in-a-box sales remain very healthy with more than $630 million in total revenues.