Global chip sales hit record high $120.6b in May

All regions up as market climbs for 15th straight month.

Global semiconductor sales climbed to their highest-ever monthly total in May, extending an unbroken run of month-on-month growth stretching back more than a year, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reported on Monday.

Worldwide chip sales reached $120.6b in May 2026, up 9.2% on April’s total of $110.5b and more than double the $59.1b recorded in May 2025, a rise of 104.1%. The figures, compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics organisation, are calculated as a three-month moving average. The SIA represents 99% of the American semiconductor industry by revenue and close to two-thirds of chipmakers based outside the United States.

John Neuffer, the SIA’s president and chief executive, said the market had continued to expand substantially in May, marking a fifteenth consecutive month of month-to-month growth. He attributed the momentum chiefly to robust year-on-year gains across the Americas, the Asia-Pacific region and China.

Every region tracked by the survey posted growth on both a monthly and annual basis. Year-on-year sales rose fastest in the Americas, up 132.2%, followed by Asia Pacific and other markets at 118.9%, China at 88.8%, Europe at 60.7% and Japan at 23.8%.

Month-on-month figures showed a similarly broad-based advance, led by China with growth of 10.7%, ahead of Asia Pacific and other markets at 9.2%, the Americas at 8.6%, Europe at 7.3% and Japan at 6.4%.

The consistency of the increases across geographies underscores the breadth of demand currently underpinning the industry, from data-centre and artificial intelligence-related components to broader electronics manufacturing, though the SIA release did not break down sales by chip category.