Recent research reveals worldwide semiconductor sales totaled a record $573.5 billion in 2022, but sales slowed significantly during the second half of the year
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) has announced global semiconductor industry sales totaled $573.5 billion in 2022, the highest-ever annual total and an increase of 3.2 per cent compared to 2021. However, sales slowed during the second half of the year. Fourth-quarter sales of $130.2 billion were 14.7 per cent less than 2021’s Q4 total and 7.7 per cent lower than Q3 2022.
Global sales for December 2022 were $43.4 billion, a decrease of 4.4 per cent compared to November 2022. Monthly sales are compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization and represent a three-month moving average.
SIA president and CEO, John Neuffer, said: “The global semiconductor market experienced significant ups and downs in 2022, with record-high sales early in the year followed by a cyclical downturn taking hold later in the year. Despite short-term fluctuations in sales due to market cyclicality and macroeconomic conditions, the long-term outlook for the semiconductor market remains incredibly strong, due to the ever-increasing role of chips in making the world smarter, more efficient and better connected.”
On a regional basis, sales into the Americas market saw the largest increase (16.0 per cent) in 2022. China remained the largest individual market for semiconductors, with sales totaling $180.3 billion in 2022, a decrease of 6.3 per cent compared to 2021. Annual sales also increased in 2022 in Europe (12.7 per cent) and Japan (10.0 per cent). Sales for the month of December 2022 decreased compared to November 2022 across all regions: Europe -0.7 per cent, Japan -0.8 per cent, Asia Pacific/All Other -3.5 per cent, China -5.7 per cent and the Americas -6.5 per cent.
Several semiconductor product segments stood out in 2022. Analog, a type of semiconductor commonly used in vehicles, consumer goods and computers, had the highest annual growth rate of 7.5 per cent, reaching $89 billion in 2022 sales. Logic ($176 billion in 2022 sales) and memory ($130 billion) were the largest semiconductor categories by sales. Sales of automotive ICs grew by 29.2 per cent year-over-year to a record total of $34.1 billion.