- A major growth driver for medical semiconductors will be ventilator equipment used to treat coronavirus patients
- Worldwide ventilator shipments are projected to reach a total of 691,840 units for the year, up 60 per cent from 430,843 units in 2019
The worldwide semiconductor market, as per a new report by Omdia, is expected to decline by five per cent in 2020, excluding memory ICs, With memory included, global revenue for the overall market will total $439.3 billion in 2020, up 2.5 per cent from $428.5 billion in 2019. This is a significant reduction from the previous Omdia forecast of 5.5 per cent growth for this year.
“Omdia has cut its semiconductor forecast substantially as the ramifications of the coronavirus on the global economy have come into sharper focus,” said Myson Robles-Bruce, research analyst, semiconductor value chain, Omdia.
He continued, “With Japan already in recession and economists expecting the U.S. and Europe to enter recessions in the second quarter, demand is weak in every region and almost every market. The pandemic has negatively impacted supply chains and market demand across all component categories.”
Medical semiconductor segment will grow faster from now
The medical electronics semiconductor market, as per the report, will total $6 billion in 2020, up from $5.6 billion in 2019. In revenue terms, the ventilator market this year will be worth $4.6 billion, a hefty increase of 71 percent from $2.7 billion in 2019.
A major growth driver for medical semiconductors will be ventilator equipment used to treat coronavirus patients. Worldwide ventilator shipments are projected to reach a total of 691,840 units for the year, up 60 percent from 430,843 units in 2019.
“Medical ventilators have been in use for more than 70 years and in that time, they have evolved from simple electromechanical designs to complex electronically-controlled systems with multiple microcontrollers, brushless DC motor controllers, touchscreen interfaces, and USB or wireless connectivity. As a result, these devices are driving significant semiconductor consumption as shipments rise to meet the coronavirus challenge in 2020,” said Paul Pickering, senior analyst, industrial semiconductors, Omdia.
Will grow faster than the overall industrial semiconductor market
The medical semiconductor segment will continue to grow faster than the overall industrial semiconductor market in 2021 and beyond, driven by long-term trends such as the aging population, the increasing use of telehealth, the move to portable and wearable devices, and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).
“COVID-19 is causing rapid reallocation of priorities and funding in the medical sector. The consequences are both direct, with an increase in demand for medical ventilators and surgical supplies, and indirect, with a boost in telehealth caused by the postponement or cancellation of routine appointments,” added Bruce.
