Global semiconductor materials market sees record sales in 2018, topping 7-year-old mark

The figures show that the global semiconductor materials market grew 10.6% in 2018, boosting its 12-month revenue to $51.9 billion, surpassing the previous high of $47.1 billion set in 2011. SEMI said 2018's chip market revenue of $468.8 billion was also an all-time high, topping 2017's $412.2 billion, according to World Semiconductor Trade Statistics.

SEMI recorded that 2018 water fabrication materials and packaging materials revenues totaled $32.2 billion and $19.7 billion, respectively, with those two segments posting year-over-year increases of 15.9% and 3.0%.

Taiwan was the world's largest consumer of semiconductor materials for a ninth-straight year, which SEMI attributes to the country's large foundry and advanced packaging base. Korea was second and China was third, flipping from 2017. The materials markets in South Korea (+16%), Europe (+14%), Taiwan (+11%), and China (+11%) had the strongest revenue growth in 2018, while North America (+6%), Rest of World (+7%), and Japan (+9%) all had single-digit growth. The Rest of World region is defined as Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, other areas of Southeast Asia and smaller global markets.