Memory market drives 2013 semi sales

Dale Ford, vice president at IHS Technology, said: "Memory ICs were the key drivers of growth in the semiconductor industry in 2013. DRAM showed the strongest expansion among major memory segments, with revenue surging by 32.5% as suppliers were able to achieve a balance between supply and demand that yielded lucrative pricing for parts. "NAND flash also posted a strong year – at 24.2% growth – as demand for the memory from smartphones and tablets continued to rise." According to Ford, the sector's strong performance also enabled the major suppliers of memory to jump up the rankings. Micron's strong organic growth, coupled with its acquisition of Elpida, saw it jump from tenth place in 2012 to fourth in 2013. Revenue was up a whopping 108.5%. South Korea's SK Hynix also saw substantial growth, ascending from seventh place to No. 5 on the strength of 42.8% organic growth. All told, memory suppliers accounted for three of the top five slots in 2013. In contrast to the high flyers, IHS says Japanese chip companies struggled the most during 2013. Renesas, Sony and Rohm Semiconductor saw revenues fall by 13.7%, 27% and 14.4%, respectively. Semiconductor suppliers in Asia-Pacific saw their combined revenue grow 14.7%, allowing them to capture 25.3% of the chip market – the largest share ever for the region. For companies headquartered in the Americas, collective revenue also grew strongly, up 8.7%, translating into 52.4% of total industry takings. Aside from the memory market, other notable segments in 2013 were the wireless communications market, which grew by 13.1%; industrial electronics, which climbed 9.4%; and automotive electronics, which was up 5.7%. Last year's growth effectively reversed the disappointing 2.4% loss of 2012. Overall, the top 25 chip makers amassed revenue amounting to $225.3billion – 71% of total industry takings. Intel once again topped the list with 15% of the market share.