Global chip sales surge nearly 20% in May as AI boom drives demand

Semiconductor industry posts $59B monthly sales as Americas leads regional growth

The global semiconductor industry maintained its remarkable growth trajectory in May, with worldwide chip sales climbing 19.8% year on year to reach $59.0b, driven by surging demand across key markets.

The latest figures from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) showed monthly sales increased by 3.5% compared to April's $57.0b total, demonstrating the continued strength of the global chip market despite broader economic uncertainties.

Americas leads regional growth

The standout performer was the Americas region, which posted exceptional growth of 45.2% compared to May 2024, highlighting the region's role as a key driver of global semiconductor demand. This surge reflects the ongoing artificial intelligence boom and robust technology sector investment across North and South America.

Asia Pacific markets also delivered strong performance, with the broader Asia Pacific region recording 30.5% year-on-year growth. China, the world's largest semiconductor market, showed solid expansion of 20.5%, whilst Japan and Europe posted more modest but positive growth of 4.5% and 4.1%, respectively.

"Global semiconductor sales remained strong in May, edging above the previous month's total and remaining well ahead of sales from the same month last year," said John Neuffer, SIA president and chief executive. "Growth in the global chip market continued to be fuelled by strong demand in the Americas and Asia Pacific regions."

The breadth of growth was particularly encouraging, with all major regional markets posting month-on-month increases. Asia Pacific led monthly gains with 6.0% growth, followed by China at 5.4% and Europe at 4.0%. The Americas and Japan recorded more modest monthly increases of 0.5% and 0.2% respectively.

The consistent growth across regions suggests the semiconductor recovery is broadening beyond the initial AI-driven surge, with demand strengthening across multiple applications and markets.

The semiconductor industry's robust performance comes as global technology companies continue to invest heavily in artificial intelligence infrastructure, data centres, and advanced computing capabilities.

This has created particularly strong demand for high-performance chips used in AI training and inference applications.

The industry's growth trajectory reflects the critical role semiconductors play in powering the digital transformation across industries, from automotive and healthcare to telecommunications and consumer electronics.