According to DMASS, semiconductor distribution sales in Q4 2014 grew 10.3% to €1.57 million. The year ended with sales of €6.34 million, 7.7% higher than in 2013 and close to the record set in 2011.

Georg Steinberger, president of DMASS, commented: "It's always good to see predictions beaten by reality. DMASS members had a good year of increasingly stable business and leveraged their regional strength. The 2014 results show healthy growth across the board, with very few problem areas.".

From a regional perspective, the standout performers were Eastern Europe, Austria, Iberia, the UK, and Israel, all of which grew above the DMASS average. Growth was slightly lower in Belgium, Norway, Sweden, and Russia, the latter reflecting the impact of EU sanctions. The top regions in Q4, in detail, were: Germany, up 8.5% to €474 million; Eastern Europe, up 23.7% to €192 million; the Nordic countries, up 6.8% to €161 million; Italy, up 6.7% to €139 million; the UK and Ireland, up 12.3% to €135 million; and France, up 6.5% to €122 million. On an annualized basis, Germany remains the largest market, with over €2 billion in sales, representing 32% of DMASS.

Georg Steinberger: "What's important to highlight is that the distribution industry has proven resilient to the global economic slowdown in Western and Southern Europe. This means that there's a lot of innovation-driven market dynamics at play, rather than macroeconomic effects. What's also important is the fact that monetary effects are becoming increasingly critical again. The fall of the euro against the dollar over the past 12 months is astonishing.".

On an annual basis, very few of the DMASS product categories underperformed, most notably Memories (down 0.4% to €484 million), Programmable Logic (down 3.1% to €484 million), and Other Logic (down 5.9% to €303 million). On the positive side, Discrete grew 17.2% to €363 million, Power 10.5% to €639 million, Sensors 9.7% to €137 million, Optoelectronics 13.4% to €644 million, Analog 9.9% to €1.8 billion, and MOS Micro 8.5% to €1.3 million. The real growth drivers were RF, MOSFETs, LEDs, NAND-Flash memories, and 32-bit microcontrollers.

Note: DMASS only reports sales of industrial semiconductors, defined as all semiconductors, excluding the PC channel.