Communications systems are expected to show the biggest global sales in the integrated circuit (IC) category this year, replacing computer systems for the first time, market information advisory firm IC Insights forecast yesterday.
In a research report, IC Insights said that computer systems have been the largest source of sales in the global semiconductor business for years, but the landscape is expected to change this year amid strong demand for communications devices, in particular mobile devices.
The value of the IC market is expected to be about US$285.9 billion, with communications systems accounting for 37.9 percent of the total, computer systems 36.3 percent, consumer electronics 11.2 percent and automotive electronics 7.6 percent, the report said.
Industrial electronics and government and military applications are expected to make up 6.2 percent and 0.9 percent respectively of global semiconductor market sales, the advisory firm said.
In the Americas, Japan and the Asia-Pacific, communications, computers and consumer electronics will be the top-three components of the IC market this year, the report forecast.
These three categories are expected to account for 83.4 percent of IC sales in the Americas, while communications will make up 38 percent, it said.
In the Asia-Pacific region, the three categories will account for 92.3 percent of total IC sales this year, while communications systems will take 41.6 percent, the report predicted.
In Japan, the three categories are expected to make up 78.5 percent of total IC sales, with computer systems likely to take a 25.4 percent share, IC Insights said.
In Europe, the three top IC categories are communications, computers and automotive electronics, which are expected to account for 80.6 percent of that region’s total IC revenue this year, with communications taking a 28.1 percent share, IC Insights said.
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