Driven by the widespread adoption of "smart" integrated controls and rising prices due to supply shortages, semiconductor sensor sales are projected to continue posting double-digit percentage growth in 2022 compared to last year, according to the upcoming Q4 2022 update of IC Insights' The McClean Report service. However, weakening economic conditions and high inflation rates worldwide have slowed demand for sensor units in the consumer electronics, PC, and mainstream smartphone segments since the beginning of summer.
Sensor orders are projected to grow by only 1% in 2022, but reach a record 30.8 billion devices, up from 30.4 billion in 2021. Total sensor sales in the fourth quarter are on track for a 13% annual growth rate in 2022, reaching an all-time high of $14.4 billion, up from $12.7 billion last year, according to IC Insights' 4Q22 Update forecast (Figure 1).
Supply shortages and a lack of sensors for automotive systems, industrial equipment, and other embedded control applications have significantly increased the average selling price (ASP) of these semiconductors. IC Insights expects the 2022 ASP for all sensors to be 11% higher than in 2021, representing the largest one-year percentage price increase in more than two decades. Sales of two major sensor categories are expected to end this year with double-digit percentage increases: +15% for acceleration/yaw sensors and +20% for magnetic field sensors (including electronic compass chips commonly found in navigation applications). Meanwhile, sales of pressure-sensing devices (including microphone chips) are forecast to grow by only 5% in 2022 due to limitations in automotive production and declining smartphone shipments this year.
Sales of pressure sensors are projected to reach $4.8 billion this year, with shipments increasing by just 0.4% to 8.5 billion units. Revenue in the acceleration/yaw category, which includes accelerometer and gyroscope designs for inertial sensing, is expected to reach $5.5 billion in 2022, with unit shipments growing by slightly less than 0.5% to 7.1 billion this year. The fourth-quarter update to the McClean Report also indicates that sales of magnetic field sensors will reach $3.3 billion in 2022, with unit shipments growing by 1% to 12.7 billion.
Nearly three-quarters of annual semiconductor sensor sales are generated by products manufactured using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. Tiny MEMS structures embedded in silicon detect and measure changes in pressure sensors, microphone chips, and acceleration/steering sensors. MEMS-based devices now account for 54% of total sensor unit shipments worldwide. Sales of MEMS-based sensors are expected to grow 5% this year to a record $10.8 billion, while shipments of these devices are projected to increase 7% to a peak of $16.7 billion in 2022.
