[Techtaffy Newsdesk]

In 2012, the consumer electronics (CE) industry will surpass $200 billion in overall revenues in the U.S. for the first time, according to the semi-annual industry forecast from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

Total domestic industry shipment revenues continue to grow and are projected to surpass $202 billion in 2012, an all-time high for the industry. The industry will grow 3.7 per cent in 2012, after reaching an estimated $195.2 billion in revenues in 2011. The CE industry is projected to grow nearly twice as fast in 2012 than the forecasted U.S. GDP growth of two per cent.

Gary Shapiro (President and CEO, CEA): While the CE industry should see sustained growth in 2012, the continued health of our industry depends on the overall state of the U.S. economy.

Surging sales of mobile connected devices are helping push industry revenues this year. Tablet computers are the fastest growing category in CE history and will continue to see strong growth in 2012 with a projected 37.6 million units being shipped, an increase of 28 per cent, resulting in $18.3 billion in revenue, says the CEA.

Smartphones will continue to be the primary revenue driver for the industry. Smartphone unit sales will increase 24 per cent in 2012 with 108.8 million units projected to ship, resulting in $33.7 billion in revenue. Laptop sales continue to rise as unit sales will increase to 23.5 million units accounting for $15.2 billion in revenue in 2012.

Television displays remain a crucial category to the industry’s bottom line, second only to the category of smartphones, the industry’s leading revenue driver. However, with household penetration rates of HDTVs near 70 per cent, display revenues are projected to drop to $17.2 billion in 2012. Within the television category, innovations like 3D and Internet connectivity continue to be a bright spot. Sales of TV sets with 3D functionality will increase 101 per cent in 2012 to more than 6.2 million units. 3DTV revenues will reach $7.5 billion, an increase of 68 per cent. Internet-connected displays will also see steady growth in 2012, with unit sales of nine million, an increase of 52 per cent, says the CEA. Revenues of Internet-connected displays will reach $7.7 billion, an increase of 27 per cent.

Overall revenues for the in-vehicle category are projected to grow nearly nine per cent in 2012. OEMs are seeing strong growth, which is reflected at the 2012 International CES, where six of the world’s 10 largest auto manufacturers are exhibiting.