Chip market growth strong in Q1 in US, China

Sales in Europe and Japan head in the opposite direction.

The global chip market continues to be a tale of contrasting fortunes, with Europe and Japan contracting and the Americas and China enjoying double-digit percentage annual growth, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association or SIA, reporting data compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics organization.

The three-month average of chip sales worldwide in March was $27.7 billion, an increase of 6 percent compared with the equivalent figure from a year before, SIA said. For the fourth month in a row the annual growth rate has declined, suggesting 2015 will be slower than 2014, although much will depend on the third quarter.

Polarization between regions with growing markets and those that are declining continues. The three-month average for chip revenue in the Americas was up 14.2 percent in comparison with March 2014, while it was down 9.6 percent in Japan. Sales in China were up 13.3 percent, while that in Europe slipped 4 percent.

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