Worldwide sales of semiconductors for January 2014 reached US$26.28 billion, an increase of 8.8% from a year ago when sales were US$24.15 billion, according to SIA. Compared to the US$26.65 billion posted in December 2013, January sales represented a 1.4% decrease reflecting normal seasonal trends.

　　"The global semiconductor industry has built on its record revenues from 2013 with an impressive start to 2014, led largely by continued strength in the Americas market," said Brian Toohey, president and CEO of SIA. "Sales in January were up across most regions and nearly all product categories compared to last January, which bodes well for continued growth during the rest of 2014."

　　Regionally, chip sales in the Americas registered on-year growth of 17.3% in January 2014, while sales in Europe and Asia Pacific increased 11.3% and 8.3%, respectively. Chip sales in Japan, however, saw a 4.7% decline during the same period.

　　Compared to the previous month, January chip sales were flat in Europe, but decreased 0.6%, 2.3% and 3.5%, respectively, in Asia Pacific, Japan and the Americas.