WASHINGTON — Global semiconductor sales fell 0.2% to $335.2 billion in 2015, falling just short of the industry’s highest-ever sales total.

Global sales fell 5.2% year-over-year to $27.6 billion in December, the Semiconductor Industry Association said. Sales were off 4.4% from the revised November figures.

Fourth-quarter sales of $82.9 billion were down 5.2% from 2014.

All monthly sales numbers represent a three-month moving average.

“Despite formidable headwinds, the global semiconductor industry posted solid sales in 2015, although falling just short of the record total from 2014,” said John Neuffer, president and CEO, SIA. “Factors that limited more robust sales in 2015 include softening demand, the strength of the dollar, and normal market trends and cyclicality. In spite of these challenges, modest market growth is projected for 2016.”

Several semiconductor product segments stood out in 2015. Logic was the largest semiconductor category by sales with $90.8 billion in 2015, or 27% of the total semiconductor market. Memory ($77.2 billion) and micro-ICs ($61.3 billion) – a category that includes microprocessors – rounded out the top three segments in terms of total sales. Optoelectronics was the fastest growing segment, increasing 11.3% in 2015. Other product segments that posted increased sales in 2015 include sensors and actuators, which reached $8.8 billion in sales for a 3.7% annual increase, NAND flash memory ($28.8 billion/2.2% increase), and analog ($45.2 billion/1.9% increase).

Regionally, annual sales increased 7.7% in China, leading all regional markets. All other regional markets – the Americas (-0.8%), Europe (-8.5%), Japan (-10.7%), and Asia Pacific/all other (-0.2%) – saw decreased sales compared to 2014.

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