IHS: Semiconductor market on the up

Analyst figures show increase in OEM semiconductor sales, with rivals Apple and Samsung vying for the top spending spot

Apple and Samsung are battling it out for the title of biggest semiconductor buyer in the world as the latest IHS figures reveal a spike in global spending.

The total available market (TAM) for semiconductor spending by major OEMs in 2013 will rise to $265.2bn (£173bn), up 4.2 per cent from $254.4bn in 2012.

Spending by year-end will be at its highest level in six years, with another jump predicted by the analyst to $279.4bn in 2014.

According to IHS, Apple is set to maintain leadership in OEM semiconductor spending, but when taking internally produced chips into account, Samsung will take the top spot in terms of TAM.

Other vendors appearing on the list include: HP, Lenovo, Sony, Dell, Cisco, Panasonic and Toshiba.

Myson Robles-Bruce, senior analyst for semiconductor spend and design activity at IHS, said: “Depending on the metric used, either Samsung or Apple will be the top chip spender for 2013. Either way, the honour does not merely signify bragging rights but also carries attendant overtones of prestige and influence, with the incumbent leader often tacitly acknowledged by all others as the industry’s top semiconductor spender.”

Unsurprisingly the greatest share of spending this year will be in wireless communications, where Samsung and Apple top the bill. Wireless alone is forecast to snaffle 26 per cent – about $62bn of total OEM semiconductor spend.

And within the wireless sector, handsets continue to be the single largest market, with OEM chip spending in 2013 expected to reach $46.7bn. Media tablets are the next largest segment at £8.2bn.

After wireless comes computer platforms, representing PCs and similar devices, and these are forecast to take up to 23 per cent of OEM chip spending.

The remaining segments for OEM chip spending, in decreasing size, are consumer, computer peripherals, automotive, industrial and wired communications.