The growth of the computer chip marketplace is a sign of the continuing high growth for electronic devices of all descriptions, for business and consumers (see the recent Digital Journal article “Increased sales for Echo Dot signal change in consumer shopping“). The growth data was provided by market research firm Gartner Inc.
The 2017 figures are very different from the data presented for 2015. Worldwide semiconductor revenue totaled $333.7 billion in 2015, a 1.9 percent decrease from 2014 revenue of $340.3 billion. 2016 saw a turnaround and this continued throughout 2017.
In 2016 global chip revenue increased by 1.5 percent in 2016. This was due to a late-year surge which enabled the semiconductor industry to avoid contraction.
For 2017, worldwide semiconductor revenue equated to $419.7 billion. This represented a 22.2 percent increase from 2016. The analysis suggests this growth was buoyed by an under-supply in memory chips and this helped drive 64 percent revenue growth in the market.
Much of this growth went Sunbeam’s way. Samsung’s lead is based on a 52.6 increase in sales year-on-year. The other leading chip companies that saw growth are SK Hynix, Micron, Toshiba and Western Digital. However, Intel remains in second place with a growth figure of just 6.7 percent.
In related computer chip news, Microsoft has issued an emergency Windows update due to flaws, dubbed “Meltdown” and “Spectre,” detected in computer chips by Google researchers.
