Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) Chief Executive Jeffrey P. Bezos released a statement to the press last week, claiming that the Kindle Fire tablet computer had a 22 percent of the American tablet market in the quarters ending December 2011 to June 2012.

In addition to the first-ever disclosure of sales statistics, the Amazon press release also mentioned that the company’s first-generation Kindle Fire tablet had just run out of stock on its website.

This is congruent to news that Amazon will be holding a special press event this week, possibly to announce the new Kindle Fire 2 tablet. Rumors indicate that Amazon will be launching two second-generation Kindle Fires – an improved version of the original 7-inch tablet, plus a 10-inch version that may compete with the Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad.

Bezos’ statement focused on thanking consumers for making the Kindle Fire the retail site’s best-selling product ever. He referred to the popularity of digital products on the Amazon website, and while he acknowledged that the Kindle Fire is sold out, he talked about an “exciting roadmap” and a commitment to offer customers the “best hardware, the best prices, the best customer service, the best cross-platform interoperability, and the best content ecosystem.”

As the press release did not specify how many Kindle Fire units were sold, it is quite difficult to judge the veracity of the 22 percent claim. In a recent survey, Apple’s share of the market was estimated at 68 percent – these statistics covered tablet shipments for the April to June 2012 quarter.