Electronic system design in the U.S. is expected to drive 33.5 percent of global semiconductor purchasing in 2005, amounting to $58.7 billion worth of chip sales for the year, according to iSuppli (El Segundo, Calif.).

The market research firm said Japan would be ranked second, with its design activity generating 26.1 percent of worldwide chip sales. Taiwan (9.9 percent), Germany (5.8 percent), China/Hong Kong (5.4 percent) and South Korea at (5.3 percent) will round out the top players, iSuppli said.

In a statement issued by iSuppli Tuesday (July 19), Greg Sheppard, iSuppli executive vice president, noted that the U.S. lead in electronic design contrasts sharply with the country’s propensity to outsource manufacturing to other regions. While actual production of electronic equipment is decreasing in the U.S., the country's influence on design activity is on the rise, Sheppard said.

More than 40.2 percent of new semiconductor sales in 2005 will be driven by design activity in the U.S., by far the largest growth among the top-10 design nations, according to the DIT.

The U.S. design industry is being aided by relatively strong shipment growth in 2005 in the markets for industrial and automotive equipment, although the nation has robust activity in all application markets, including consumer electronics and computers, Sheppard said.

China is gaining design momentum and is moving rapidly into the upper echelons of the market, according to Sheppard. In 2005, China will surpass South Korea to take the number-five rank in design-driven semiconductor purchasing, and is on track to pass Germany to take fourth place next year, he said.

iSuppli said its DIT presents design influence in terms of semiconductor purchases in U.S. dollars for 169 OEMs worldwide, representing 75 percent of the global chip market. Data is broken down by eight major application markets. The DIT is designed to be used by semiconductor suppliers for sales benchmarking and for country resource planning.