A C-Suite favourite, the Global Semiconductor Monthly Report provides monthly analysis and commentary on the global semiconductor industry and the future market outlook and forecast.
The month’s Report title: “If The Global Economy Catches Cold, The Chip Market Will Catch Pneumonia”
Report Highlights: January’s WSTS Report saw a further $4.0 billion upward revision to last month’s reported numbers, bringing the total up to US$795 billion, up 26.1 percent vs. 2025. This 0.6 percent annualised increase was solely attributable to ICs, up 39.9 percent year-on-year, more specifically to Memory, up 29.9 percent, and Logic, up 38.8 percent, all in turn driven by the red-hot AI-datacenter explosion. In sharp contrast, Analog and Micro were up just 8.7 and 7.9 percent respectively, with Opto and Discretes even lower at 4.7 percent and 3.2 percent.
Whilst IC value-growth was up an eye-watering 39.0 percent, unit growth was only single digit, at just 5.9 percent, re-enforcing the fact 2025’s growth was ASP, not demand, driven. At this stage in the cycle, as we enter 2026, we would all be well-advised to remember the two golden rules of semiconductor ASPs. First, Moore’s second law, “The long-term IC ASP value is a dollar” and second, the historical industry observation, “The long-term IC ASP growth is zero.” Unless, or course, “It’s different this time!”
