Worldwide sales of semiconductors reached US$83.1 billion in the first quarter of 2015, up 6% from a year ago, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

Semiconductor sales for March 2015 were US$27.7 billion, 6% higher than the March 2014 total of US$26.1 billion but 0.1% lower than February's total, said SIA. All monthly sales numbers are compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization and represent a three-month moving average.

Regionally, semiconductor sales were up compared to February in Asia Pacific/All Other (3.1%), Europe (2.7%), and China (1.0%), which is broken out as a separate country in the sales data for the first time, SIA said. Japan and the Americas saw sales decrease of 0.4% and 6.9%, respectively, compared to February.

Compared to March 2014, sales increased in the Americas (14.2%), China (13.3%), and Asia Pacific/All Other (3.8%), but decreased in Europe (-4.0%) and Japan (-9.6%), SIA said.

"Despite macroeconomic challenges, first quarter global semiconductor sales are higher than they were last year, which was a record year for semiconductor revenue," said SIA president and CEO John Neuffer. "The Americas region posted its sixth straight month of double-digit, year-to-year growth to lead all regional markets, and DRAM and analog products continue to be key drivers of global sales growth."