Worldwide semiconductor market is forecasted to be $325 billion in 2014, up 6.5 percent from 2013

USA: The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) has released its updated semiconductor market forecast. WSTS predicts that the world semiconductor market will reach $325 billion in 2014, up 6.5 percent from 2013.

All major product categories will show a high single digit growth rate, except microprocessors which will show a soft decline. The growth will be largely driven by smartphones, tablets and automotive.

The highest growth rates are shown for the Analog (9.1 percent) and Sensor (9.1 percent) category. By region, all regions except Japan will grow from 2013. Japan market is forecasted to decline from 2013 in US dollar basis due to JPY depreciation compared to 2013.

Solid growth for all product categories is expected to continue over the next two years, under the assumption of macro economy recovery throughout the entire forecast period. Worldwide semiconductor market is forecasted to be up 3.3 percent to $336 billion in 2015. For 2016, the market is forecasted to be $350 billion, up 4.3 percent.

By end market, automotive and communications (especially wireless) are expected to grow stronger than the total market, whereas consumer and computer are assumed to rermain almost flat.

By region, Asia-Pacific will be the fastest growing region and expected to reach $207 billion in 2016, which is almost 60 percent share of the total semiconductor market.