Credit : AFP
 

The semiconductor industry has boomed in recent years. The global semiconductor is projected 

to exceed US$1 trillion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 7%. Among the five key applications, 

automobile is the most promising, with sales growth far higher than the industry average.

In 2021, the global semiconductor market was valued at US$556 billion, of which about 38% 

were for computing and 33% for communication, totaling more than 70%, while automobile, 

industrial and consumer electronics each accounts for about 10%. With the surging demand, 

global semiconductor sales will exceed US$1 trillion by 2030. The sales of communication and 

computing market are still expected to account for more than 60%. Based on the great business 

potential, the automobile is estimated at a CAGR of more than 10% in the next decade, while the 

sales growth of industrial sector is also higher than the industry average.

Eric Chen, a DIGITIMES semiconductor analyst, pointed out that the CAGR of global 

semiconductor sales from 2021 to 2030 will reach 7%. Among them, computing sector will grow 

to US$360 billion, with a CAGR of 6%; communication will grow to US$318 billion, with a CAGR of 

6%; automobile will grow to US$145 billion, with a CAGR of 12%; industrial sector will grow to 

US$130 billion, with a CAGR of 9%; and sales of consumer electronics devices will grow to US$84 

billion, with a CAGR of about 6%.

Key Drivers and Trends Fueling Market Growth

The computing sector's growth trajectory will flatten as demand for personal computer (PC) and 

notebook saturates. However, emerging data centers will provide semiconductor companies 

with abundant opportunities, which boost server shipments and the demand for HPC chips.

Communication applications are mainly contributed by the mobile infrastructure, which will 

drive demand for semiconductors including mobile AP, base station CPU, RF components, power 

device or optoelectronics.

As environmental awareness rises, governments plan to end purchases of gas-powered vehicles 

and promote electric vehicles (EVs). This has encouraged car manufacturers to actively develop 

various types of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) or battery electric vehicle (BEVs). Automobile 

semiconductor vendors will benefit from a surge in demand for components including sensors, 

computing and control chips. In the automobile sector nowadays, the adoption of electronic 

systems has grown explosively. Automation, electrification, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) 

communication systems will lead to great business opportunity in automobile market.

The Internet of Things, or IoT, is poised to drive growth in the semiconductor industry at 

industrial and consumer levels. In addition to core computing and control chips, RF components 

and sensors are critical elements. For industrial applications, there is a higher demand for power 

and analog ICs due to the higher power requirements.

Worldwide semiconductor sales growth, 2021/2030 (US$b)

Source: DIGITIMES Research, December 2022