Despite rampant inflation and other macro headwinds, IC Insights continues to anticipate an 11% increase in total semiconductor sales this year - the same growth rate that was forecast in January.
The semiconductor market is still poised to generate a record-high US$680.7 billion in 2022, according to IC Insights.
IC Insights raised its sales forecast for microcomponent ICs to 11% growth in 2022 from the 7% estimated previously. The increase is being driven by stronger microprocessor sales in the embedded MPU category (now up 12% versus 9% previously) and in cellular application processors (rising 22%, which is significantly higher than 10% in its January forecast).
IC Insights also reiterated its overall projection of total IC sales growth in 2022. Total IC sales are expected to rise 11% this year to a record-high US$567.1 billion. Its latest forecast keeps the 2022 growth forecast unchanged in analog ICs (up 12%) and logic integrated circuits (up 11%).
IC Insights revised downward this year's forecast for total sales volume in the non-IC semiconductor market categories - optoelectronics, sensors and actuators, and discrete semiconductors (O-S-D), which account for about 17% of total semiconductor revenue worldwide. Total O-S-D sales are now expected to rise 9% to US$113.6 billion versus the previous projection of 11% growth in 2022.
IC Insights' strong 15% growth forecast for sensor/actuator semiconductors remains unchanged, but the firm has cut its optoelectronics sales growth this year to 6% because of weak gains in CMOS image sensors and lamp devices (mostly LEDs). The weakness in optoelectronics is partly being offset by stronger increases in discrete semiconductors, primarily because of higher increases in sales of power transistors (now expected to be up 11% in 2022) and diodes (projected to grow 10%) due to tight supplies worldwide and rising ASPs.
