Semi equipment sales soar to top $100B this year

Global sales of total semiconductor manufacturing equipment by original equipment manufacturers are forecast to reach a new high of 103 billion dollars in 2021, up 44.7 percent from 2020, trade organization Semi predicts. The growth is expected to continue, reaching 114 billion dollars by 2022.

“Crossing the 100 billion dollar mark in semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales reflects the global semiconductor industry’s concerted and exceptional drive to expand capacity to meet strong demand,” said Ajit Manocha, Semi president and CEO. “We expect continuing investments in the digital infrastructure buildout and secular trends across multiple end markets to fuel healthy growth in 2022.”

According to IC Insights, worldwide semi capex is also on track to break records. The market research firm project 152 billion dollars in spending, a 34 percent gain compared to 2020. The growth is spearheaded by foundries, which accounts for 53 billion dollars (35 percent) of all semiconductor capex in 2021. The world’s largest foundry, TSMC, is responsible for more than half (57 percent) of foundry spending.