KUALA LUMPUR: Worldwide sales of semiconductors reached US$40.16bil in August 2018, up 14.9% from a year ago, with the China and Americas markets recording strong growth.

The US-based Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said the global sales were 14.9% higher than August 2017’s sales of US$34.96bil.

“Global sales in August 2018 were 1.7% higher than the July 2018 total of US$39.49bil,” it said.

All monthly sales numbers are compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organisation and represent a three-month moving average.

President and CEO of SIA John Neuffer said global semiconductor sales continued to bound upward in August, easily outperforming sales from last August and narrowly surpassing last month’s total.

“While year-to-year growth has moderated somewhat in recent months, sales remain strong across every major semiconductor product category and regional market, with the China and Americas markets standing out with the largest year-year growth,” he said.

Year-on-year, China recorded a 27.3% increase followed by the Americas (15%), Europe (9.5%), Japan (8.4%), and Asia Pacific/all other (4.7%). 

When compared with July, China recorded a 2.1% increase, the Americas (3.6%), and Asia Pacific/all other (1.3%).

However, there was a slight decline of 0.1% in Japan while sales in Europe fell 1.4%.