A new report from industry analyst IC Insights shows that communication and computer systems will account for the greatest percentage of integrated circuit (IC) sales in all geographic regions this year—the Americas, Europe, Japan, and Asia-Pacific. The information is included in IC Insights’ IC Market Drivers, A Study of Emerging and Major End-Use Applications Fueling Demand for Integrated Circuits, released this month.
Communications applications are expected to capture just over 41% of IC sales in Asia-Pacific and 39% of the revenue in the Americas region this year, while computer applications are forecast to be the largest end-use market in Japan and Europe, accounting for nearly one-third of ICs sales in both regions, the researcher said.
Computer applications were the largest driver of IC sales for decades before being eclipsed by communications systems in 2013, according to IC Insights’ data. Growing demand for smartphones and tablets and declining demand for personal computers has driven the change, and today communications remains the global driver of IC sales.
Automotive applications remain an important and growing force in the IC market, according to the report—especially in Europe where they will remain the third-largest end-use category for ICs this year. Globally, communications systems are forecast to represent 38% of the $310.5 billion IC market this year compared to 35% for computers, and 12% for consumer. IC sales to the automotive market are forecast to represent only about 8% of the total IC sales this year, “but from 2013-2018, this segment is projected to rise by a compound average growth rate (CAGR) of 10.8%, highest among all the end-use applications,” according to the report.
