San Jose, California–The outlook for semiconductor sales in 2001 remains strong, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported today as it announced that worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $18.28 billion in November 2000–an increase of 28.4% over the $14.24 billion a year ago.

“The chip industry remains on track to achieve sales of $205 billion in 2000. That’s an increase of 37.1% over 1999, and the first time annual industry sales will exceed $200 billion,” says SIA President George Scalise. “We expect to approach our historic 17% compound annual growth rate in the first quarter of 2001.”

The year-to-date increase in semiconductor sales was apparent in all geographical regions, with communications and Internet infrastructure markets experiencing the greatest growth in demand. Japan’s market grew 38.9%, followed by the Americas (30%), Europe (24.1%), and Asia/Pacific (20.9%).

Semiconductor product sectors that experienced strong growth in November included flash memory, standard cell, and communication-specific ICs. These products can be found in mobile phones, Internet infrastructure, and personal digital assistants, as well as in other communications and consumer products.