Worldwide industrial semiconductor revenues in 2014 grew to $40.4billion, 18% more than in the previous year, according to IHS. "Gradual acceleration in the global economy, led by the US and China, continued to lift industrial equipment demand," said Robbie Galoso, principal analyst, IHS Technology. "Broad based growth in industrial electronics gained momentum in the semiconductor industry, especially in products used for factory automation control, commercial avionics, LED lighting, digital internet protocol cameras, climate control, renewable energy, traction, wireless application-specific testers and oil and gas exploration equipment."
IHS expects the sector to continue its strong growth and forecasts a 7% increase in sales in 2015 and a compound annual growth rate of 6% until 2019.
Texas Instruments was the largest industrial semiconductor supplier, with sales of $3.5bn followed by STMicroelectronics and Infineon Technologies, while Micron and ON Semiconductor entered the top 10 at the expense of Maxim and Cree.
Among the top 10 semiconductor suppliers, nine achieved sales growth in 2014 – seven returning double digit growth. Only Renesas saw its revenues decline.
