Non-IC semiconductor market is forecasted to grow by >8% in 2014

IC Insights has reported its market research findings, where it estimates the total Opto, Sensors/Actuators, and Discrete semiconductor/device (O-S-D) sales of $58.6 billion in 2013, surpassing the previous peak of $58.2 billion in 2012, when revenues also grew about 1% from record levels in 2011. Further findings and study points shared by IC Insights include: In many ways, 2013 was a slightly weaker repeat of 2012 with all three O-S-D market segments being undermined by the shaky global economy and high levels of caution among systems makers, who reined in component purchases and kept inventories low. During 2013, the biggest and typically fastest-growing product categories in optoelectronics, sensors/actuators, and discretes suffered from slowdowns in unit-volume demand and sharply lower selling prices. However, the new O-S-D Report’s forecast shows the two-year slump ending in 2014 with all three market segments gaining strength over the next several years as the global economy improves and unit demand bounces back (see Figure 1). IC Insights expects total O-S-D revenues to rise by a more normal 8% growth rate in 2014, reaching a fourth consecutive record-high level of $63.5 billion this year (with optoelectronics growing about 9% to $31.6 billion, sensors/actuators climbing nearly 14% to $9.9 billion, and discretes recovering from a two-year decline, increasing 6%...