Korea grabbed the No. 2 spot in the global semiconductor market, overtaking Japan for the first time in history. The Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy announced, citing the latest announcement of U.S. semiconductor market research firm HIS Technology that Korean chipmakers achieved sales of $51.5 billion last year, with their global market share estimated at 16.2 percent. This figure is higher than Japan’s $43.4 billion or 13.7 percent. The U.S. came on top with sales of $166.6 billion (52.4%), while Europe and Taiwan ranked No. 4 and 5, respectively, with 8.7 percent and 6.5 percent.
This is the first time for Korea to exceed Japan in semiconductor output since the nation’s major chipmakers, including Samsung, launched full-scale production in the 1980s. Korea’s global market share has been on an upward trend, rising to 16.2 percent in 2013 from 14.7 percent in 2012 and 13.9 percent in 2011. In contrast, Japan saw its market share fall to 13.7 percent in 2013 from 17.5 percent in 2012 and 18.5 percent in 2011.
