Total chip sales grew 6.8% to $227.5bn in 2005 from a year ago. Asia Pacific saw the most growth, with a 20% spurt from last year, as the shift of electronics manufacturing operations to the region continued.
2005 turned out to be a very good year for the semiconductor industry, said SIA president George Scalise, in a statement. Despite record energy prices and an unprecedented series of natural disasters, worldwide demand for semiconductors increased in all end markets.
PC sales, the largest single semiconductor market segment, remained strong, as unit shipments in the fourth quarter grew 17%. Consumer electronics such as cell phones, digital cameras and TVs, and MP3 players drove higher demand for microchips.
Looking ahead, SIA predicts worldwide sales of all semiconductors will grow 7.9% this year to $245bn as overall demand remains robust and production capacity continues to be in line with expected demand, Scalise said. Also, excess inventories are not expected to be an issue.
In December, total global chip sales rose 8.6% to $19.95bn from a year ago, but were down 2.2% from November.
The report from San Jose, California-based SIA was based on World Semiconductor Trade Statistics’ data.
