More evidence that mobile phone shipments in the US are defying the economic gloom on Monday, as analysts reported strong sales in the region.

According to research from Strategy Analytics, mobile phone shipments in the US grew 5 per cent annually, to reach 42 million units during the second quarter.

There was some good news for Motorola, which enjoyed strong sales and maintained its position as number one handsets seller in the US, with a 25.8 per cent market share.

The analyst attributed this to a strong distribution network and deep carrier relationships, which are proving crucial in maintaining share in both GSM and CDMA markets.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) also shared the good news, achieving double digit market share for the first time in the US. Strategy Analytics notes that the Canadian firm is seeing huge success with its balanced portfolio of consumer and enterprise handsets.

Bonny Joy, analyst at Strategy Analytics said, “Despite economic fears and a tightening on consumer spend, mobile phone shipments in the United States reached 41.9 million units during Q2 2008, up 5.3 per cent from 39.8 million in Q2 2007. Attractive bundling schemes from operators and a number of new handset launches from vendors kept replacement rates at a healthy level.”

Last week, analysts at Gartner predicted global sales of mobile handsets are set to reach 1.28 billion units in 2008, an 11 per cent increase on last year.