Intel Corp., a major supplier of semiconductors and chips, achieved its highest yearly market share in over a decade in 2011, according to information and analytics provider IHS. Intel increased its share by 2.5 percent to 15.6 percent last year, helping the company maintain the number one spot in the worldwide semiconductor market share.

“Intel in 2011 captured the headlines with its major surge in growth,” said Dale Ford, head of electronics and semiconductor research at HIS. “The company’s rise was spurred by soaring demand for its PC-oriented microprocessors, and for its NAND flash memory used in consumer and wireless products. Intel’s revenue was also boosted by its acquisition of Infineon’s wireless business unit. The company’s rise helped it stave off the rising challenge mounted by No. 2 semiconductor supplier Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., which had been whittling away at Intel’s lead in recent years.”

Samsung closed the market share gap with Intel in recent years; however, slow revenue growth of just 0.6 percent in 2011 left Samsung’s market share unchanged at 9.2 percent while Intel widened the gap last year with growth of 2.5 percentage points.

The semiconductor industry as a whole grew 1.3 percent in 2011, less than the IHS projected growth estimate of 1.9 percent. The growth rate was slowed by a 5.9 percent decrease in growth in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Qualcomm experienced the most growth in 2011 compared to other top-10 semiconductor manufacturers. With its 41.6 percent growth last year, Qualcomm jumped three spots to number six in the world with a 3.3 percent market share.

Another strong player in the semiconductor market making headlines in 2011 is ON Semiconductor, which achieved the biggest jump in market share for a top-25 company during 2011, leaping from number 26 in the world to the 18 spot.

Only about half of the 302 chip makers tracked by the IHS achieved revenue growth in 2011, signaling a weak market for semiconductors. American companies, however, experienced the greatest amount of growth in the industry at 7.5 percent. Japanese chip makers saw a 7.2 percent decrease in revenues, largely due to damage caused by the 2011 earthquake in the region.