New ranking shows some revenue gaps expanding between the largest microcontroller manufacturers.

Single-chip microcontrollers for embedded control and computing functions are ubiquitous and continue to be designed into more systems.  Much of the new growth in MCUs is driven by embedded automation and the spread of sensors.  The pervasiveness of MCUs was a key factor in suppliers being unable to keep up with the strong 2021 rebound from the 2020 global recession caused by the start of the Covid-19 virus pandemic.

After falling 7% in 2019 because of a weak global economy and then dropping 2% in 2020 due to the Covid-virus crisis, MCU sales rebounded with a 27% increase in 2021 to a record-high $20.2 billion.  The 2021 surge was the highest percentage growth in MCUs since 2000. The average selling price (ASP) for MCUs climbed 12% in 2021—the highest annual increase since the mid-1990s.  Production-constrained MCU shipments grew just 13% in 2021 to 31.2 billion units.
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New quarterly update shows higher gains in microprocessors and power discretes this year, but lowers sales increases in optoelectronics while the global economy faces greater risks.

Despite rampant inflation, soaring energy costs, ongoing glitches in supply chains, recent Covid-19 virus lockdowns in China, and Russia’s war with Ukraine, IC Insights continues to anticipate an 11% increase in total semiconductor sales this year—the same growth rate that was forecast in January.  However, what’s different in IC Insights’ new updated forecast is how the semiconductor market achieves the low double-digit percentage growth and reaches record-high sales of $680.7 billion in 2022.
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