WSTS Projects Steady Growth for Industry

by Semiconductor Industry Association

A World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) sales forecast released earlier this month projects moderate global growth for the remainder of 2013 and 2014.

The forecast, which SIA endorsed, projects the industry’s worldwide sales will reach $297.8 billion in 2013, a 2.1 percent increase from the 2012 sales total. WSTS predicts year-over-year increases for 2013 in Asia Pacific (5.7 percent), Europe (5.3 percent) and the Americas (1.6 percent), but a sharp decline in Japan (-13.8 percent). Beyond 2013, WSTS predicts the industry will grow steadily and moderately across all regions. WSTS forecasts 5.1 percent growth globally for 2014 ($312.9 billion in total sales) and 3.8 percent growth for 2015 ($324.9 billion).

The WSTS tabulates industry-wide forecasts twice a year, once in the Spring at the end of May and again in the Fall at the end of November. The WSTS forecasts are particularly valuable and accurate because they are based on direct input from semiconductor companies, i.e. the global semiconductor manufacturers and designers that are members of WSTS. These industry experts convene for roughly a week each Spring and Fall to work on the forecast. Besides the overall industry forecast estimate and estimates for major geographical regions, the group also calculates forecasts for semiconductor product categories such as specific logic, memory, analog, and discrete categories. Because the forecasts are done every six months, they can be updated and refined frequently to reflect as accurate a picture of the industry as possible.

The Spring and Fall forecasts and the WSTS Bluebook data are part of the WSTS package subscription package. If interested in only the most recent forecast, please contact me directly at fyinug@semiconductors.org or 202-446-1705 and I will be able to provide it to you.