- Global sales for the month of December 2020 were $39.2 billion, an increase of 8.3 per cent compared to the December 2019 total
- Fourth-quarter sales of $117.5 billion were 8.3 per cent more than the total from the fourth quarter of 2019 and 3.5 per cent higher than the total from third quarter of 2020
The global semiconductor industry sales were $439.0 billion in 2020, an increase of 6.5 per cent compared to the 2019 total of $412.3 billion as per the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). Global sales for the month of December 2020 were $39.2 billion, an increase of 8.3 per cent compared to the December 2019 total and 2.0 per cent less than the total from November 2020.
John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO said, “Global semiconductor sales increased moderately on an annual basis in 2020, weathering a challenging macroeconomic environment brought on by the pandemic and other factors. While global demand for semiconductors is on the rise, the share of global chip production done in the U.S. has declined from 37 per cent in 1990 to 12 per cent today, and that disparity will only intensify without U.S. government action to level the global playing field. It’s imperative the federal government fully fund incentives for domestic chip manufacturing and investments in chip research so the U.S. can benefit from growing demand and produce more semiconductors needed to strengthen our economy, national security, and critical infrastructure.”
Annual sales of logic products increased by 10.3 per cent compared to 2019
Fourth-quarter sales of $117.5 billion were 8.3 per cent more than the total from the fourth quarter of 2019 and 3.5 per cent higher than the total from third quarter of 2020. Monthly sales are compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization and represent a three-month moving average. Sales for the month of December 2020 increased slightly compared to November 2020 in Asia Pacific/All Other (0.8 per cent) and Japan (0.1 per cent), but fell in Europe (-0.2 per cent), the Americas (-3.0 per cent), and China (-4.5 per cent).
Logic ($117.5 billion in 2020 sales) and memory ($117.3 billion) were the largest semiconductor categories by sales. Annual sales of logic products increased by 10.3 per cent compared to 2019.
The report added, “While sales of memory products were up 10.2 per cent. Within the memory category, annual sales of NAND flash products stood out, increasing 23.1 per cent to $49.5 billion in 2020. Sales of micro-ICs — a category that includes microprocessors — increased 4.8 per cent to $69.6 billion in 2020. Sales of all non-memory products combined increased by 5.2 per cent in 2020 and that category reached an all-time high in total sales.