- Taiwan will dethrone Korea as the largest equipment market and lead the world with 21.1 percent growth this year
- The equipment market is expected to recover in 2020 on the strength of memory spending and new projects in mainland China
Global sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment by original equipment manufacturers are projected to drop 18.4 percent to $52.7 billion in 2019 from last year’s historic high of $64.5 billion.
SEMI, the global industry association representing the electronics manufacturing and design supply chain, analysed the market in its Mid-Year Total Equipment Forecast.
Released at SEMICON West 2019, the report shows growth in equipment sales resuming in 2020 with 11.6 percent jump to $58.8 billion.
The report cites recent downward adjustments in capital expenditures and rising market uncertainty due in part to geopolitical tensions as reasons behind the falling sales.
The SEMI Mid-Year Forecast shows wafer processing equipment sales falling 19.1 percent in 2019 to $42.2 billion. The other front-end segment, consisting of fab facilities equipment, wafer manufacturing and mask/reticle equipment, is expected to slide 4.2 percent to $2.6 billion this year.
The assembly and packaging equipment segment is projected to decline 22.6 percent to $3.1 billion in 2019, while semiconductor test equipment is forecast to decrease 16.4 percent to $4.7 billion this year.
Taiwan to dominate the market
As per the report, Taiwan will dethrone Korea as the largest equipment market and lead the world with 21.1 percent growth this year, followed by North America with an 8.4 percent uptick.
Mainland China will maintain the second spot for the second consecutive year, and Korea will fall to third after throttling back capital expenditures.
SEMI forecasts that, in 2020, the equipment market is expected to recover on the strength of memory spending and new projects in mainland China.
Mainland China, Korea, and Taiwan are forecast to remain the top three markets next year, with mainland China rising to the top for the first time.
“More upside is likely if the macroeconomy improves and trade tensions subside in 2020,” the report says.
