Worldwide sales of semiconductors hit a record high of $227.5bn in 2005, an increase of 6.8 per cent from the $213bn reported in 2004, according to figures released by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) this week.

Sales amounted to $19.95bn during December, up 8.6 per cent compared to the $18.37bn in December 2004, while worldwide sales for the fourth quarter were $59.86bn, up 8.6 per cent from sales of $55.1bn in the fourth quarter of 2004.

"2005 turned out to be a very good year for the semiconductor industry, driven by consumer electronics products such as phones, cameras, televisions and MP3 players," said SIA president George Scalise. 

"PC sales, the largest single market segment for semiconductors, remained strong, as unit shipments in the fourth quarter of 2005 were up 17 per cent from the same period a year ago."

The SIA forecasts that worldwide sales of semiconductors will grow by 7.9 per cent in 2006 to $245bn.