Global chip market growth slips as Asia-Pacific falls
The global chip market was worth $151.7 billion in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of 23 percent compared with 1Q21, according to the US-based Semiconductor Industry Association.
However, this seemingly healthy growth follows on from far stronger growth in the preceding months and may represent an inflection point in the global chip market. Whether it is driven by Covid-19 restrictions in southeast Asia and is therefore temporary or is more fundamental cyclic change ahead of recessionary economics is not yet clear.
The global chip market’s year-on-year growth was down at 23.0 percent from 32.4 percent just one month before. This was largely due to dramatic fall in the sales growth of the Asia-Pacific and rest of the world region.
Asia-Pacific’s year-on-year growth in three-month averaged sales in February was 41.4 percent and it dropped to 17.9 percent in the three-month averaged sales for March. The three-month average for March is a proxy for first quarter sales.
Elsewhere the Americas region stayed high with growth of 40.1 percent but it is notable that growth in all the regions dipped compared with February. In particular China went down from 21.8 percent growth in February to 17.3 percent in March.
This means that China, with about one-third of the global market for semiconductor components, is now both the largest and the slowest growing region.
Europe’s chip market dipped to 25.7 percent annual growth in March from 29.3 percent a month before while Japan’s dropped slightly to 20.4 percent from 21.6 percent.
Three-month average of chip sales by geographic region for March and February 2022. Source: SIA/WSTS.
John Neuffer, CEO of SIA, emphasized the positive highlighting that sales were up in 1Q22 compared with 1Q21 in all the regions.
Monthly data is given by the SIA as a three-month average although the source of the data, World Semiconductor Trade Statistics, tracks monthly data. The SIA and other regional semiconductor industry bodies opt to use averaged data because it evens out the actual data that typically shows troughs at the beginnings of quarters and peaks at the ends of quarters.
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