Communication and computer systems are forecast to account for the greatest percentage of IC sales in every geographic region—Americas, Europe, Japan, and Asia-Pacific—this year, according to data released in the 2015 edition of IC Insights’ IC Market Drivers, A Study of Emerging and Major End-Use Applications Fueling Demand for Integrated Circuits. Communications applications are expected to capture just over 41% of IC sales in Asia-Pacific and 39% of the revenue in the Americas region this year. Computer applications are forecast to be the largest end-use market in Japan and Europe, accounting for nearly one-third of ICs sales in both regions in 2015 (Figure 1).
Figure 1
Consumer systems are forecast to be the third-largest end-use category for ICs in the Americas, Japan, and Asia-Pacific regions in 2015. In Europe, automotive applications are expected to remain the third largest end-use category for ICs this year.
Collectively, communications, computers, and consumer systems are projected to account for 85.7% of IC sales in the Americas this year compared to 77.9% in Japan and 90.8% in Asia-Pacific. Communications, computer, and automotive applications are forecast to represent 82.3% of IC sales in Europe in 2015.
For more than three decades, computer applications were the largest market for IC sales but that changed in 2013 when the global communications IC market took over the top spot due to steady strong growth in smartphones and weakening demand for personal computers. Globally, communications systems are forecast to represent 38.1% of the $310.5 billion IC market this year compared to 35.2% for computers, and 12.2% for consumer (Figure 2). IC sales to the automotive market are forecast to represent only about 8% of the total IC sales this year but from 2013-2018, this segment is projected to rise by a compound average growth rate (CAGR) of 10.8%, highest among all the end-use applications.
Figure 2
Report Details: IC Market Drivers 2015
IC Market Drivers 2015—A Study of Emerging and Major End-Use Applications Fueling Demand for Integrated Circuits examines the largest, existing system opportunities for ICs and evaluates the potential for new applications that are expected to help fuel the market for ICs.
IC Market Drivers is divided into two parts. Part 1 provides a detailed forecast of the IC industry by system type, by region, and by IC product type through 2018. In Part 2, IC Market Drivers examines and evaluates key existing and emerging end-use applications that will support and propel the IC industry through 2018. Some of these applications include the Internet of Things, automotive electronics, smartphones, personal/mobile computing (including tablets), wireless networks, digital imaging, and a review of many applications to watch—those that may potentially provide significant opportunity for IC suppliers later this decade. IC Market Drivers 2015 is priced at $3,390 for an individual user license and $6,490 for a multi-user corporate license.
