SAN FRANCISCO — Semiconductor sales grew on both an annual and month-to-month basis once again in August, as sales remained strong across all product categories and markets, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

The three-month average of chip sales in August grew to a record $40.16 billion, up 1.7% from July and up 14.9% compared to August 2017, according to theSIA, which reports numbers compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization.

The chip market has consistently posted strong growth for the past two years, including turning in all time sales records for the past several consecutive months. However, annual growth has slowed in recent months after posting growth of more than 20% for 15 straight months. In July, the three-month-average of sales was up by 17.9% compared with July 2017.

John Neuffer

“While year-to-year growth has moderated somewhat in recent months, sales remain strong across every major semiconductor product category and regional market, with the China and Americas markets standing out with the largest year-year growth," said John Neuffer, the SIA's president and CEO, in a press statement.

Sales were up year-over-year by 27.3% in China, 15% in the Americas, 9.5% in Europe, 8.4% in Japan and 4.7% in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the WSTS, an organization of more than 50 semiconductor companies that pool sales data.

On a month-to-month basis, sales were up 3.6% in the Americas, 2.1% in China and 4.7% in the Asia-Pacific region, but declined by 0.1% in Japan and 1.4% in Europe, according to the WSTS.

— Dylan McGrath is the editor-in-chief of EE Times.