Semiconductor Industry Association
KUALA LUMPUR: US semiconductor companies reported global sales climbed to US$338.9bil in 2016 – this highest ever – underpinned by stronger December sales, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
The SIA, which represents US leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, design, and research, announced the 2016 sales were up 1.1% from 2015.
SIA president and CEO John Neuffer said: “We expect modest growth to continue in 2017 and beyond.”
Global sales for December 2016 reached US$31bil, equaling November’s sales, and exceeding December 2015 by 12.3%. Not bad after a slow start in early 2016.
Fourth quarter sales of US$93bil were up 12.3% from a year ago and this was also an increase of 5.4% from third quarter of 2016.
Neuffer said following a slow start to the year, the global semiconductor market picked up steam mid-year and never looked back, reaching nearly US$340bil in sales in 2016, the industry’s highest-ever annual total.
“Market growth was driven by macroeconomic factors, industry trends, and the ever-increasing amount of semiconductor technology in devices the world depends on for working, communicating, manufacturing, treating illness, and countless other applications.
What drove the growth?
SIA said several semiconductor product segments stood out in 2016.
Logic was the largest semiconductor category by sales with US$91.5bil in 2016, or 27% of the total semiconductor market.
Memory (US$76.8bil) and micro-ICs (US$60.6bil) – a category that includes microprocessors – rounded out the top three segments in terms of total sales.
Sensors and actuators was the fastest growing segment, increasing 22.7% in 2016.
Other product segments that posted increased sales in 2016 include NAND flash memory, which reached US$32bil in sales for a 11% annual increase, digital signal processors (US$2.9bil/12.5% increase), diodes (US$2.5bil/8.7% increase), small signal transistors (US$1.9bil/7.3%), and analog (US$47.8bil/5.8% increase).
The SIA said China recorded the highest growth in annual sales at 9.2% and followed by Japan (3.8%).
However, all other regional markets recorded a decline where Asia Pacific/All Other (-1.7%), Europe (-4.5%), and the Americas (-4.7%) – saw decreased sales compared to 2015.
Neuffer pointed out that a strong semiconductor industry is strategically important to U.S. economic growth, national security, and technological leadership.
“We urge Congress and the new administration to enact polices in 2017 that spur US job creation, and innovation and allow American businesses to compete on a more level playing field with our competitors abroad.
“We look forward to working with policymakers in the year ahead to further strengthen the semiconductor industry, the broader tech sector, and our economy,” he said.
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