Korea is expected to rank at the top of equipment spending, followed by Taiwan and China, combining to account for 73 percent of all fab equipment spending in 2022
Global fab equipment spending for front end facilities is expected to rise 10 percent year-over-year (YOY) in 2022, reaching an all-time high of over USD 98 billion, as per a report by SEMI.
The fab equipment spending increase in 2022 would follow a 39 percent jump in 2021 and 17 percent in 2020, as per SEMI’s report.
“The semiconductor equipment industry has enjoyed a period of unprecedented growth with increased spending in six of the past seven years, as chipmakers expand capacity to meet secular demand for a wide range of emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, autonomous machines and quantum computing,” said Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI.
“The capacity buildout extends beyond the robust demand during the pandemic for electronics vital for remote work and learning, telehealth and other applications.”
The foundry sector is expected to account for 46 percent of total spending in 2022, a 13 percent YOY increase, followed by memory at 37 percent, a slight dip from 2021. In memory segments, spending for DRAM is forecast to decline while expenditures for 3D NAND will edge higher.
Microcontroller (with MPU) spending is expected register a staggering 47 percent surge in 2022. Power related devices are also projected to show strong growth of 33 percent.
Korea is expected to rank at the top of equipment spending, followed by Taiwan and China, combining to account for 73 percent of all fab equipment spending in 2022.
Europe/Mideast, the next largest spending region in 2022, is projected to see remarkable 145 percent growth for the year. Japan is expected to grow by 29 percent.
