According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), quoting data compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization, global semiconductor industry sales reached $526.8 billion in 2023. While the first three quarters of 2023 were significantly down compared to the previous year, the market saw fourth quarter results that were the second highest ever recorded (after 4Q 2021).
Taking published data from the WSTS Bluebook global semiconductor quarterly sales look like this:
The SIA states “Several semiconductor product segments stood out in 2023. Sales of logic products totaled $178.5 billion in 2023, making it the largest product category by sales. Memory products were second in terms of sales, totaling $92.3 billion. Microcontroller units (MCUs) grew by 11.4% to a total of $27.9 billion. And sales of automotive ICs grew by 23.7% year-over-year to a record total of $42.2 billion.”. The SIA is expecting the market to grow 13.1% in 2024.
Following a global pandemic, widespread chip shortages followed by excess inventory, global inflation and interest rate rises, instability due to military conflicts and more, volatility remains in many markets. Inventory corrections have had a sever impact on much of the semiconductor market. However, there are now positive signs of growth.
All this is backed up by DATAportl/SAR Insight’s own research. Our Market Confidence survey, published in Q4 2023, showed that the majority of the respondents believed that the supply and demand of goods and services would reach a balance before the latter part of 2024, after a period of fluctuation and uncertainty.
DATAportl forecasts that the total electronic device/equipment market will grow at a CAGR of almost 6% from 2023 to 2028. Clearly there are winners and losers over the next 12 months and the next five years. These device/equipment markets are what is driving demand for semiconductors and back up the predictions by the SIA.
