MILPITAS, CA -- Sales of software for printed circuit board and multichip module design rose 15.9% year-over-year in the first quarter, the Electronic System Design (ESD) Alliance Market Statistics Service (MSS) announced today.

Sales reached $224.1 million for the period ended Mar. 31.

The four-quarters moving average, which compares the most recent four quarters to the prior four quarters, increased 10.3%.

Overall electronic design automation (EDA) industry revenue increased 16.3% in the quarter to $2.61billion, compared to $2.24 billion in 2018. The four-quarters moving average increased 6.1%.

“The EDA industry overall reported double digit increased revenue in Q1 compared to Q1 2018, with all categories, except services, reporting double-digit increases,” said Wally Rhines, CEO emeritus of Mentor and member of the ESD Alliance Governing Council. “Geographically, all major regions reported an increase in growth for the four-quarters moving average, all but North America reported sequential growth, and all but Japan reported year-over-year quarterly growth.”

Computer-aided engineering (CAE) generated revenue of $840.7 million, up 20.2 %, the second-highest year-over-year growth in history. The four-quarters moving average for CAE increased 11.7%. IC physical design and verification revenue rose 17.9% to $557.4 million. The four-quarters moving average increased 3.7%.

Semiconductor intellectual property (SIP) revenue grew 14.8% to $876.1 million. The four-quarters moving average increased 2.4%. Services revenue was $108 million, down 3.9%. The four-quarters moving average decreased 2.4%.

The Americas, EDA’s largest region, purchased $1.11 billion worth of EDA products and services in the quarter, up 8.6%  from a year ago. The four-quarters moving average increased 4.3%. Revenue in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) increased 2.8% to $345.9 million. The four-quarters moving average increased 1.6%.

Japan's revenues fell 1.4 % to $244.7 million compared to a year ago. The four-quarters moving average for Japan increased 3.3%. Asia/Pacific (APAC) region revenue increased 29% to $902.9 million. The four-quarters moving average increased 8.4%.

Companies that were tracked employed 43,500 professionals in the March period, up 5.8% from 2018 and up 1.7% sequentially.

Listen to Wally Rhines discuss the latest PCB and semiconductor design software market results on the PCB Chat podcast. 

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