• by Aaron Baar , January 11, 2012

As consumer electronics move even further into the realm of necessity over luxury, revenues for the industry will top $200 million in 2012, according to the latest forecast from the Consumer Electronics Association.

According to the CEA, shipment revenues will grow 3.7% to $202 billion in 2012, an all-time high for the industry. That rate is nearly twice the projected U.S. GDP rate of 2% for the year, according to Steve Koenig, the CEA’s director in industry analysis.

“Sales of mobile connected devices continue to drive the overall industry to historic highs,” Koenig said in a release. “A raft of innovative products hit the market in late 2011, and, as we’re seeing here at the 2012 International CES, many more devices will be introduced in the months ahead. Technologies that may have seemed cutting edge in the past are now an integral part of consumers’ everyday lives.”

Smartphones will continue to be the leading driver for the industry, with sales expected to increase 24%, yielding $33.7 billion in revenue for the year. Not far behind will be tablet computers, where shipments will increase 28% to 37.6 million for the year, resulting in $18.3 billion in revenue. Laptop computers will also see modest growth, with shipments increasing to 23.5 million units and $15.2 billion in revenue.

While HDTVs have reached near ubiquity in U.S. households (with penetration at 70%), revenues for simple displays are projected to drop to $17.2 billion in 2012. However, advanced televisions with 3D and/or Internet connectivity will increase. Sales of 3DTVs are expected to grow 101% to 6.2 million units and revenues of $7.5 billion. Internet-connected displays will increase 52% with revenues reaching $7.7 billion.

As consumers look to take their connectivity on the road, another area of growth will be automotive electronics, where revenues will grow 9% in 2012.