Semiconductor industry
The semiconductor industry is the aggregate collection of companies engaged in the design and fabrication of semiconductor devices. It formed around 1960, once the fabrication of semiconductors became a viable business. It has since grown to be the $336 billion industry it is today.[1]
Industry structure
The global semiconductor industry is dominated by USA, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and European Union. The U.S. industry faces challenges to development by some forms of government regulation. The U.S. government regulates exports and certain uses of some types of semiconductors due to their potential dual use in military applications.
Based on a KPMG report it was a $304 billion market in 2010.
WSTS revised up its full-year 2014 global semiconductor sales growth forecast to 9 percent ($333.2 billion in total sales) from the 6.5 percent it forecasted six months ago. WSTS also forecasts positive sales growth to continue in 2015 at 3.4 percent ($344.5 billion in total sales) and 2016 at 3.1 percent ($355.3 billion).
Positive global macroeconomic growth in 2015 will continue to support semiconductor sales in 2015. While the global economy recovers at an agonizingly slow and fitful pace, it is nevertheless recovering. In its October World Economic Outlook, the IMF revised downward its growth forecast for 2014 by 0.4 percent to 3.3 percent, and global growth for 2015 was lowered slightly to 3.8 percent.
This growth in 2015 should bode well for continued growth in global semiconductor sales in 2015 as forecast by WSTS. As semiconductors and the technologies they enable have become pervasive across all aspects of worldwide consumer, industrial, and government applications, global semiconductor industry sales performance has become increasingly tied to global GDP growth.
The table below from WSTS provides some product and regional detail on semiconductor sales performance in 2014 and forecast growth in 2015 and 2016. Note that sales growth in 2015 and beyond is forecast to be more balanced with all products and nearly all regions experiencing positive growth. This board-based positive growth over the next two years is indicative of sales growth based on the foundation of strong global economic performance.
| Rank 2012 |
Rank 2011 |
Rank 2010 |
Rank 2009 |
Company | Country of origin | Revenue (million $ USD) |
2012/2011 changes | Market share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Intel Corporation |  United States | $47,543 | -2.4% | 15.7% |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Samsung Electronics |  South Korea | $30,474 | +6.7% | 10.1% |
| 3 | 6 | 9 | 6 | Qualcomm | United States | $12,976 | +27.2% | 4.3% |
| 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | Texas Instruments | United States | $12,008 | -14.0% | 4.0% |
| 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | Toshiba Semiconductors |  Japan | $10,996 | -13.6% | 3.6% |
| 6 | 5 | 5 | 9 | Renesas Electronics (1) | Japan | $9,430 | -11.4% | 3.1% |
| 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | Hynix | South Korea | $8,462 | -8.9% | 2.8% |
| 8 | 7 | 7 | 5 | STMicroelectronics |  France /  Italy | $8,453 | -13.2% | 2.8% |
| 9 | 10 | 10 | 14 | Broadcom | United States | $7,840 | +9.5% | 2.6% |
| 10 | 9 | 8 | 13 | Micron Technology (2) | United States | $6,955 | -5.6% | 2.3% |
Source : iSuppli Corporation supplied rankings for 2010 (Semiconductor foundries are excluded)
Features
This industry features a number of distinct characteristics that position it uniquely in the economy and in the global competitive arena. These include:
- The role of the industry as technology enabler. The semiconductor industry is widely recognized as a key driver for economic growth in its role as a multiple lever and technology enabler for the whole electronics value chain. In other words, from a worldwide base semiconductor market of $213 billion in 2004, the industry enables the generation of some $1,200 billion in electronic systems business and $5,000 billion in services, representing close to 10% of world GDP.
- Continuous growth but in a cyclical pattern with high volatility. While the current 20 year annual average growth of the semiconductor industry is on the order of 13%, this has been accompanied by equally above-average market volatility, which can lead to significant if not dramatic cyclical swings.
- The need for high degrees of flexibility and innovation in order to constantly adjust to the rapid pace of change in the market. Many products embedding semiconductor devices often have a very short life cycle. At the same time, the rate of constant price-performance improvement in the semiconductor industry is staggering. As a consequence, changes in the semiconductor market not only occur extremely rapidly but also anticipate changes in industries evolving at a slower pace. Yet another consequence of this rapid pace is that established market strongholds can be displaced very quickly.
See also
- Semiconductor sales leaders by year
- Semiconductor device fabrication
- Electronic design automation
- Semiconductor consolidation
- European Semiconductor Industry Association (ESIA)