Following a strong growth of 26.2% in the year 2021, WSTS revised its forecast down to a single digit growth for the worldwide semiconductor market in 2022 with a total size of US$580 billion, up 4.4%. WSTS forecast lowered growth estimation as inflation rises and end markets seeing weaker demand, especially those exposed to consumer spending. While some major categories are still expected to see double-digit year-over-year growth in 2022, led by Analog with 20.8%, Sensors with 16.3%, and Logic with 14.5% growth, Memory is expected to turn negative in the forecast and decline with 12.6% year over year. In 2022, all geographical regions are seen to show double-digit growth except Asia Pacific. The largest region, Asia Pacific, is expected to decline 2.0%. The Americas region is expected to show growth of 17.0%, Europe 12.6%, and Japan 10%. For 2023, the global semiconductor market is projected to decline by 4.1% to US$557 billion, driven by the Memory segment. In this latest forecast, this category is projected to fall to US$112 billion in 2023, dropping by 17% compared the previous year. Some other major categories showing single digit growth like Optoelectronics, Sensors, Discrete and Analog. All regions are expected to remain flat in 2023, only Asia Pacific is estimated to decline with 7.5% year over year.
