2021 was an extraordinary year of booming prosperity and unprecedented challenges for the global electronic components industry. The industry witnessed an explosive growth in demand driven by the post-pandemic economic recovery, while facing a global chip shortage that lasted throughout the year, becoming a core theme affecting the entire industrial chain. This summary comprehensively sorts out the major events and core trends of the electronic components industry in 2021, summarizing the development context and key achievements of the year.
In the global market, 2021 saw a historic breakthrough in semiconductor sales, with the industry entering a high-growth cycle. According to data from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), global semiconductor sales reached a record $555.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 26.2%, and a total of 1.15 trillion chips were sold globally. Gartner’s preliminary data showed even higher revenue of $583.5 billion, a year-on-year growth of 25.1%, exceeding the $500 billion mark for the first time. By region, China remained the world’s largest semiconductor market with sales of $192.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 27.1%, while the American market achieved the fastest growth of 27.4%. In terms of product segments, analog chips led with a 33.1% year-on-year growth, followed by memory chips (30.9%) and logic chips (30.8%), and automotive chips saw a 34% growth, becoming a key growth driver.
The global chip shortage became the most prominent industry issue in 2021, forming a “perfect storm” caused by multiple factors. The COVID-19 pandemic led to disrupted global supply chains and logistics, with chip production facilities shutting down during lockdowns, while the shift to remote work and learning drove a 13% surge in global PC demand. Severe weather events, such as the summer drought in Taiwan, further affected wafer production due to the lack of ultrapure water. As a result, chip delivery lead times continued to extend, reaching 15 weeks in February and 22.2 weeks for Broadcom’s products by April, the longest since 2017, affecting over 169 industries including automotive, consumer electronics and gaming.
2021 witnessed frequent large-scale mergers and acquisitions and investment activities, reshaping the global industry pattern. Major events included AMD’s announcement of a $35 billion acquisition of Xilinx (approved by shareholders and expected to close in Q1 2022), SK Hynix completing the first phase of its $90 billion acquisition of Intel’s NAND business, and Renesas Electronics acquiring Dialog for $5.9 billion. Domestically, Zhilu Capital and Jianguang Asset Consortium took over Ziguang Group amid its debt crisis, and Nexperia (a subsidiary of Wingtech) acquired Newport Wafer Fab (NWF). In addition, domestic enterprises such as Jichuang North and Horizon Robotics completed large-scale financing, providing strong support for technological R&D and capacity expansion.
China’s electronic components industry achieved remarkable progress in 2021, with the total sales of the domestic integrated circuit industry exceeding 1 trillion yuan for the first time, and a compound annual growth rate of 17% from 2018 to 2021, three times the global average. Domestic enterprises accelerated independent innovation and industrial layout: Jichuang North launched the first domestic AMOLED display driver chip mass-produced by top brands, and Dianlian Technology acquired 51% equity of Aimos to expand its connector business.
The domestic semiconductor industry also showed a booming listing trend, with continuous breakthroughs in core technologies, laying a solid foundation for subsequent domestic substitution.
In summary, 2021 was a year of high prosperity and structural challenges for the electronic components industry. The global market achieved historic growth, but the persistent chip shortage brought widespread impacts to the industrial chain. Large-scale mergers and acquisitions accelerated industry integration, and China’s domestic industry made significant strides in scale and technology. These developments not only shaped the industry pattern in 2022 but also laid a solid foundation for the long-term healthy development of the electronic components industry.