$62.7 billion semiconductor equipment forecast touted at SEMICON West
San Francisco, CA. SEMICON West convenes this week with SEMI today projecting that worldwide sales of new semiconductor manufacturing equipment will increase 10.8% to $62.7 billion in 2018, exceeding the historic high of $56.6 billion set last year. SEMI predicts another record-breaking year for the equipment market in 2019, with 7.7% percent growth to $67.6 billion.
SEMICON West-related events commence Monday at the imec Technology Forum, where Dave Anderson, SEMI president, is expected to welcome attendees. SEMICON West itself formally gets underway Tuesday under the theme “Beyond Smart.” SEMI reports that top technologists and industry leaders will highlight the significance of artificial intelligence and the latest technologies and trends in smart transportation, smart manufacturing, smart medtech, smart data, big data, blockchain, and the Internet of Things. SEMI said seven keynotes and more than 250 subject matter experts will offer insights into opportunities and issues across the global microelectronics supply chain. The event also features new “Smart Pavilions” addressing topics such as transportation, manufacturing, and workforce development.
The SEMI midyear forecast predicts wafer processing equipment will rise 11.7% in 2018 to $50.8 billion. The other front-end segment, consisting of fab facilities equipment, wafer manufacturing, and mask/reticle equipment, is expected to jump 12.3% to $2.8 billion this year. The assembly and packaging equipment segment is projected to grow 8.0% to $4.2 billion in 2018, while semiconductor test equipment is forecast to increase 3.5% to $4.9 billion this year.
In 2018, South Korea will remain the largest equipment market for the second year in a row. China will rise in the rankings to claim the second spot for the first time, dislodging Taiwan, which will fall to the third position. All regions tracked except Taiwan will experience growth. China will lead in growth with 43.5%, followed by Rest of World (primarily Southeast Asia) at 19.3%, Japan at 32.1%, Europe at 11.6%, North America at 3.8%, and South Korea at 0.1%.
SEMI forecasts that, in 2019, equipment sales in China will surge 46.6% to $17.3 billion. In 2019, China, South Korea, and Taiwan are forecast to remain the top three markets, with China rising to the top. South Korea is forecast to become the second largest market at $16.3 billion, while Taiwan is expected to reach $12.3 billion in equipment sales.
The following results are in terms of market size in billions of U.S. dollars:
