The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said worldwide sales of semiconductors for the month of January rose 14.0 percent from last year to $25.5 billion on significant growth across all major end-use sectors. Sequentially, sales increased 1.5 percent.

Semiconductor sales to both the industrial and automotive sectors saw significant year-over-year growth which increased by 50 percent and 44 percent respectively in 2010, SIA said.

The impressive growth in semiconductor sales over the past year has been driven by strong demand across all major end markets as the products we use everyday become smarter, faster, and less expensive, said SIA president Brian Toohey. We are especially encouraged by this trend in the industrial and automotive sectors, which saw significant growth.

Region-wise, sales rose 24.5 percent from last year to $4.7 billion in the Americas, and 13.1 percent to $3.3 billion in Europe. In Japan and Asia Pacific, sales rose 9.6 percent and 12.2 percent respectively.

The integration of semiconductors has increased across all verticals including consumer, automotive, computer, industrial, communications and government applications where the industry saw 32 percent year-over-year growth in 2010, SIA said.

For 2010, worldwide semiconductor sales grew 31.8 percent to $298.3 billion due in part to the increased use of semiconductor technology in a wider range of electronic devices.

For the current year, a report from SIA in January forecasts moderate single digit growth for the industry sector as a whole.

Japan Japan Japan Chip