Powered by the freshly fueled gears of reviving economies, the global market for semiconductors used in industrial electronics applications overcame a serious fall in 2012 and roared back to life in 2013, boding well for an even more energetic 2014, according to IHS.

The industrial electronics chip market finished 2013 with worldwide takings of US$32.8 billion - up 9% following the perilous 5% plunge suffered by the space only a year earlier. The dive, an unexpected weakening of the market after stellar output, had raised fears and painful memories harkening back three years earlier, when the industry contracted also in the double digits at the height of the global recession.

All that, however, now lies in the past, as the market has rebounded convincingly. Employed in various sectors like medical electronics, factory automation, energy distribution and generation, building and home control, test and measurements, and military and civil aerospace, the industrial electronics chip market is forecast for even more potent growth in 2014, with revenues projected to climb 11% to US$36.4 billion, said IHS.

The next four years will also see continued expansion for the market at robust levels. By 2018, industry revenues will amount to some US$49 billion, the firm added.

Growth was strong in the US, spurred by an improved economic climate as well as optimism generated by recovery in the residential housing space. China, another area of growth, also enjoyed solid broad-based revenue increases in industrial segments such as medical electronics, energy, manufacturing, and building and home control, IHS said.