The healthy growth observed in Europe in March 2015 was fuelled by an increase in demand across several different semiconductor product categories. The main drivers were discretes, sensors and actuators, and MOS MCUs, up 8.7%, 8.5% and 7.9% respectively. All growth figures represent a three month rolling average.
On a worldwide basis, semiconductor sales in March 2015 were $27.712bn, down 0.1% compared to the February 2015 and up 6.0% versus March 2014. First quarter sales were down 4.9% compared to the fourth quarter of 2014 and up 6.0% versus the first quarter in previous year.
In March, exchange rates significantly affected the European sales picture when comparing market growth in Euros and in Dollars. Measured in Euros, semiconductor sales were €2.624bn in March 2015, an increase of 7.8% from February, and an increase of 16.8% compared to March one year ago. Total first quarter sales amounted to €7.873bn, up 9.5% from the previous quarters.