Is Intel (INTC) stuffing the channel with chips? That’s the contention of analyst Douglas Freedman with American Technology Research in a note put out this morning. “Our checks suggest that Intel may be aggressively filling the channel and OEM inventory to mute the present demand cycle.” His thesis is that if Intel sticks distributors and PC makers with lots of its processors, both parties will be “incentivized” to sell more Intel parts to get rid of them. While Freedman is not raising his estimates, he thinks the result of channel stuffing is that Intel’s December and March quarters may not be as bad as he’s been thinking till now, while some sales and profit could be taken out of next fiscal year.

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