WSTS anticipates the world semiconductor market to show a moderate growth of 2.3% up to US$343 billion in 2015. All major product categories are forecasted to have positive growth rates. The highest growth rates are expected for the optoelectronics (14%), sensors (4.3%), and the analog (4%) categories. However, not all regions will grow in 2015. Europe and Japan will show a strong decline in 2015 at the US$ based forecast, which is mainly based on the current FX effect between Euro/USD and Yen/USD. According to WSTS, the semiconductor market growth in 2015 and also the following years is strongly driven by smartphones and automotive applications.
Worldwide market is expected to increase moderately in both 2016 and 2017. All major product categories and regions are forecasted to grow positively in both years under the prerequisite of a stable economic environment. The market is forecasted to be up 3.1% to US$354 billion in 2016. For 2017, it is forecasted to be US$365 billion, up by 3%.
By end application, automotive and wireless communications are projected to grow stronger than the total market, whereas consumer and computer are assumed to rermain almost flat. By region, positive growth rates are expected for 2016 and 2017. Asia-Pacific (including China) will continue to show higher growth rates than the other regions and is expected to reach US$217 billion in 2016.
