Two fab equipment investment records through 2023

Investments in 300mm fab equipment are set to rise 13 percent this year to a record of about 57 billion dollars, according to a report published by Semi. Growth will continue at a reduced rate of 4 percent in 2021, followed by a slowdown of -2 percent in 2022. The semicon trade organization then predicts a 20 percent boom in 2023, taking investment to another record level of 70 billion dollars, and another mild slowdown the year after. An estimated 38 new 300mm fabs will be built in the 2020-2024 time frame, effectuating an output capacity increase of 33 percent.

Powering the growth is the rising demand for cloud services, servers, laptops, gaming and healthcare technology. Fast-evolving technologies such as 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), automotive, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning that continue to fuel demand for greater connectivity, large data centers and big data are also driving the increase.