2020 semiconductor export volume reaches 2nd highest ever
System semiconductors become one of Korea's top five export items
The favorable trend continues due to increased demand for mobile, servers, and PCs


It has been confirmed that the semiconductor industry has played a leading role in the recovery of exports and has served as a pillar of the domestic economy amid the global economic downturn. This trend is expected to continue this year.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Semiconductor Association announced this on the 5th while announcing the '2020 Semiconductor Market Trends and '21 Outlook.'

The semiconductor export volume in 2020 was $99.2 billion, a 5.6% increase from 2019 ($93.9 billion), recording the second-highest performance ever after 2018 ($126.7 billion). Semiconductor exports have increased for six consecutive months since July, and have recorded double-digit growth rates for four consecutive months since September, contributing +1.0%P to total export growth.

Demand for mobile devices decreased due to a decrease in outdoor activities caused by the strengthened social distancing, but this was offset by an increase in demand for servers and laptops due to the acceleration of non-face-to-face interactions. According to DRAMeXchange, global laptop shipments in 2020 amounted to 186.63 million units, up 14.4% year-on-year.

Mobile demand also began to recover in the second half of the year due to the full-scale commercialization of 5G and intensifying competition in the Chinese smartphone market. System semiconductors recorded export volume of 30.3 billion dollars, exceeding the highest ever (26.5 billion dollars in 2018) and jumping to the 5th largest export item on an annual basis, surpassing steel and petroleum products.

◇ The semiconductor market is expected to grow again this year

The world economy and trade are expected to grow by 5.0% and 7.2% in 2021. Forecasting agencies such as Gartner, Omdia, and WSTS have forecasted that the global semiconductor market will record a higher growth rate than this. The three companies estimated that the global semiconductor market will grow by 8.7% and the memory market by 15.5% on average.

According to the report, semiconductor exports in 2021 are expected to increase by 10.2% compared to 2020, reaching $107.5-111 billion. With the expansion of the 5G market and the continued spread of the non-face-to-face economy, demand for upstream industries such as smartphones (2.4%), servers (6.0%), and PCs (5.8%) is expected to increase, renewing the second-highest export performance in history in just one year.

Memory exports are expected to increase by 12.0% from 2020 ($63.9 billion) to $70.3-72.9 billion, centered on DRAM, whose price is expected to rise. System semiconductors are expected to increase by 7.0% from 2020 ($30.3 billion) to $31.8-33 billion, centered on increased demand for 5G chips, image sensors, etc. and securing large foundry customers.

Global semiconductor facility investment is expected to continue to increase after a decline in 2019 due to expectations of an improvement in the semiconductor market, reaching USD 72 billion in 2021, up approximately 4% from 2020. Our country is expected to reclaim the top spot in facility investment that it lost to China and Taiwan in 2019, just two years later.

The outlook for the future market is reflected in the capital market, and Samsung Electronics' market capitalization reached $500.1 billion as of the closing price at the end of December 2020, surpassing Taiwan's TSMC ($488.1 billion) and reclaiming the top spot in global semiconductor market capitalization after five months. SK Hynix ranked third in the world in terms of global semiconductor sales (excluding foundries).

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yun-mo said, “This year, we will spare no policy effort to ensure that we can leap forward as a comprehensive semiconductor powerhouse by maintaining the memory super-gap and creating a self-sustaining ecosystem for system semiconductors.”