Yet Another Semiconductor Sales Record

Article By : Dylan McGrath, EE Times

This time, it's O-S-D, optoelectronics, sensors/actuators and discrete semiconductors

SAN FRANCISCO — Combined revenues of optoelectronics, sensors/actuators and discrete semiconductors posted their strongest growth rate since 2010, reaching a record high for the eighth consecutive year in 2017, according to market research firm IC Insights.

Combined sales for the three types of products, known collectively as O-S-D, increased by 11 percent last year to reach $75.3 billion, according to a new report by IC Insights (Scottsdale, Ariz.). The firm expects the O-S-D growth rate to slip in 2018, but still projects that cumulative sales will grow 8 percent to reach a new record high of $81.1 billion. 

Optoelectronics sales recovered from a rare decline of 9 percent in 2016 to grow to $36.9 billion in 2017, a growth rate of 9 percent, IC Insights said. The sensors/actuators market segment grew by 16 percent to $13.8 billion in 2017, while discrete semiconductor sales increased 12 percent to reach $24.6 billion.

In 2018, IC Insights forecasts that optoelectronics will further increase 8 percent, with sensors/actuators growing by 10 percent and discretes increasing by 5 percent.

According to IC Insights’ latest forecast, optoelectronics sales are projected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.3 percent between 2017 and 2022. The firm projects that sensors/actuators revenue will grow at a 8.9 percent CAGR over the same period, reaching $21.2 billion, while it predicts that discretes sales will grow at a 3.1 percent CAGR to reach $28.7 billion.

Combined sales of O-S-D products accounted for about 17 of the world’s $444.7 billion in total semiconductor sales compared last year, compared to less than 15 percent in 2007 and less than 13 percent in 1993, IC Insights said.

— Dylan McGrath is the editor-in-chief of EE Times.