NEC leads the semiconductor industry in sales.

The Japanese electronics conglomerate jumped from the No. 3 position to the top spot in 1985 with $1.98 billion in sales, according to preliminary estimates released by Dataquest Inc., a market research company based in Cupertino, Calif. Motorola of Schaumburg, Ill., remained No. 2 with $1.85 billion in semiconductor sales, while Texas Instruments of Dallas fell from the top spot--which it had occupied since the 1950s--to third with $1.76 billion, Dataquest said.