IHS: Global Semiconductor Revenues to grow 7.2% in 2018

24 April, 2018

Global semiconductor revenues totaled $111.4 billion at the end of Q1 2018, up a significant 17% from $95.2 billion during the same quarter a year ago, according to data from a new IHS Markit report

IHS: Global Semiconductor Revenues to grow 7.2% in 2018

Global semiconductor revenue derived from chip usage in electronic equipment and devices amounted to $111.4 billion at the end of Q1 2018, up a significant 17% from $95.2 billion during the same quarter a year ago, according to data from a new IHS Markit report, Application Market Forecast Tool (AMFT). Based on the Q1 results, which also weighed the recent volatility of the DRAM market, projected chip revenue growth for all of 2018 would slow slightly to 7.2%, down from an initially anticipated rate of 7.5%.

Chip revenues during Q1 grew fastest in Data Processing electronics. Major growth drivers include the use of solid-state drives (SSDs) to replace traditional hard drives in both laptop and desktop PCs, as well as a spike in the pricing of NAND flash memory utilized in SSDs. With no moving or mechanical parts, SSDs offer faster performance and greater durability than hard drives.

Revenues during Q1 2018 for semiconductors used in Data Processing equipment and devices amounted to $38.4 billion, up 19.5% from $32.2 billion in Q1 2017. Data Processing sector includes data center servers, workstations, deskbound PCs, mobile PCs, tablet PCs, DRAM upgrade modules, flat-panel monitors, and data storage devices (hard-disk drives, solid-state drives, and optical drives).

The second-fastest-growing sector was Wired Communications. Despite having the smallest revenue in the group at $5.8 billion, revenue growth of the semiconductors used in Wired Communications equipment and devices reached 17.5%. Growth propellers include threat-mitigation products, data center network equipment, and Ethernet switches and routers for enterprise applications in data centers.

The other sectors, ranked by Q1 year-over-year growth in descending order, are: Consumer Electronics at 16.5%, Wireless Communications at 16.3%, Industrial Electronics at 14.9%, and Automotive at 13.9%. Data Processing with nearly $40 billion sales is the largest sector by far, followed by Wireless Communications, with total sales of $33.9 billion for the period.

More information: Semiconductor Application Forecast AMFT Intelligence Service.

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