Semi released its mid-year equipment forecast and outlook for OEMs in the semiconductor industry at the virtual conference Innovation for a Transforming World. Semi's data is based on collective input from major equipment suppliers, the Semi Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Statistics (WWSEMS) data collection programme and the industry-recognised Semi World Fab Forecast database.
Forecasts in the various segments
Global sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment by OEMs are expected to exceed USD 100 billion next year, hitting a new high after jumping 34% to USD 95.3 billion in 2021 from USD 71.1 billion in 2020.
Continued investment by device manufacturers is fuelling the expansion of both front- and back-end semiconductor equipment segments.
The wafer fab equipment segment, which includes wafer processing, fab structures and mask/ lattice equipment, is expected to grow 34% to a new industry record of $81.7bn in 2021, followed by a 6% increase in 2022, to exceed $86bn.
The foundry and logic segments, which account for more than half of total wafer fab equipment sales, will grow 39% year-on-year to reach $45.7 billion in 2021, driven by strong demand for cutting-edge technologies fuelled by the digitisation of industries worldwide. The growth momentum is expected to continue in 2022, with investment in foundry and logic equipment increasing by another 8%.
Strong demand for memory and storage is driving spending on NAND and DRAM manufacturing equipment, a segment that is expected to lead expansion in 2021, increasing 46% to exceed $14 billion. The NAND flash equipment market will grow 13% in 2021 to reach $17.4 billion and 9% in 2022 ($18.9 billion).
The assembly and packaging equipment segment is expected to grow 56% to $6 billion in 2021, followed by a 6% increase in 2022, driven by advanced packaging applications. While semiconductor test equipment is expected to grow 26% in 2021 to $7.6bn and another 6% in 2022, on demand from 5G and high performance computing (HPC) applications.
Semi's regional forecasts
Regionally, Korea, Taiwan and China are expected to remain the top three destinations for equipment spending in 2021, with Korea leading the way thanks to robust memory recovery and strong investment in cutting-edge logic and foundry. Equipment spending for all monitored regions is expected to increase in 2021.
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