Ingram Micro Expects Big Holiday Sales Boost

LOS ANGELES, Nov 15 (Reuters) – Ingram Micro Inc (NYSE:IM) expects holiday season unit shipments to rise by 2 million units per week over last year as online retailers see orders for technology goods pick up.

Ingram Micro, the world’s No. 1 technology distributor and services provider, said it expects to ship 6 million products each week, compared to about 4 million a week for the 2009 holiday season.

The Santa Ana, Calif.-based company attributes the increase to a spike in consumer orders from online retailers and corporate technology upgrades.

Popular items this holiday season include tablet computers, camcorders and consumer electronics such as high-definition televisions, Ingram Micro said.

The company said it expects shipments on the day after Black Friday — its busiest day of the holiday season — to total 400,000 orders, which would be an increase of nearly 150,000 orders over last year’s single-day record.

Ingram Micro plans to hire nearly 3,000 temporary workers to handle the holiday shipments passing through its U.S. and Canada distribution centers.

Retail and direct marketers account for about a third of Ingram Micro’s worldwide business. (Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Robert MacMillan)