IDC forecasts the semiconductor market will grow by 12.5% year-on-year to $522 billion in 2021, driven by continued robust growth in consumer, computing, 5G, and automotive semiconductors.

Despite the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy, the semiconductor market performed strongly in 2020. While demand by industry was uneven throughout the year due to global lockdowns, remote work and education, and shifts in consumer buying behavior, the global semiconductor revenue grew to $464 billion in 2020, an increase of 10.8% compared to 2019, according to the Semiconductor Applications Forecaster (SAF) from International Data Corp. (IDC).

IDC forecasts the semiconductor market will reach $522 billion in 2021, a 12.5% year-over-year growth rate. IDC anticipates continued robust growth in consumer, computing, 5G, and automotive semiconductors.

Supply constraints will continue through 2021. While shortages initially occurred in automotive semiconductors, the impact is being felt across the board in semiconductors manufactured at older technology nodes. Much like a traffic jam and the ripple effect, a disruption on the semiconductor supply chain operating close to capacity will impact across the supply chain. The industry will continue to struggle to rebalance across different industry segments, while investment in capacity now will improve the industry s resiliency in a few years.

10/17-19 EAC