Recent IC Insight report highlights a growth in global semiconductor unit shipments including ICs and optical, sensor, and discrete (OSD) devices , which is expected to break the one trillion mark for the first time in 2016. The shipments are projected to increase by eight per cent this year, rising to 11 per cent in 2015 and finally pushing past $1 trillion in 2016 at 12 per cent.

A trillion is the number said to set the measure for all subsequent chip shipments after 2016, as forecasted in the 2014 edition of The McClean Report. While the sheer number of semiconductor shipments is impressive, the report also takes the long view of the past four decades to show how far the industry has come.

For example, in 1978 semiconductor unit shipments totalled 32.6 billion. During the next 36 years, the average annual growth rate averaged 9.4 per cent—a testament to the increasing reliance on semiconductors in different aspects of modern life.

However, the market is not without its slumps. Between 2008 and 2013, the annual growth rate slowed to just about 5 five per cent as a result of a worldwide economic recession. Now that most of the global economy has recovered, the growth rate is expected to reach eight per cent, a sign that the industry has not suffered any long-term effects and that the desire for semiconductors is still strong, especially in the increasingly popular mobile market.

The report's historic information finds that semiconductors first topped the 100 billion shipment mark in 1987. From there, it took another 19 years, until 2006, for the market to reach 500 billion units. The next 100 billion unit mark was achieved the very next year, as the market topped 600 billion units in 2007. Thus the total of unit shipments of semiconductors has steadily increased at higher rates over time, bringing about each milestone at a quicker pace compared to the last. That is thanks in part of the consumer market and the explosive growth of items from smartphones to game consoles.

Since 1978, the percentage of ICs and OSD devices among total semiconductor shipments has remained about the same, in spite of various changes in the industry and advances in integrated circuit technology. ICs made up 21 per cent of semiconductor units in 1978, whereas OSD devices accounted for 79 per cent of total units. In 2016, OSD devices are expected to make up 74 per cent of total semiconductor units compared to 26 per cent for ICs.

By: DocMemory
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