Global fab equipment investment expected to continue growing.
The memory sector has the highest investment, followed by foundries.


The Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) released its latest World Fab Forecast report on the 9th, projecting that global investment in preprocessing fab equipment will increase by 8% this year and 13% next year. Last year, it decreased by 9%.

The report analyzed that ▲ increased demand for electronic devices due to the COVID-19 pandemic ▲ increased demand for safety stock due to the intensifying US-China trade conflict ▲ increased demand for semiconductors for data centers or servers contributed to the growth.

By sector, fab equipment investment in the memory sector is expected to reach $26.4 billion this year, up $3.7 billion from last year. This represents a 16% increase compared to 2019. Next year, it is expected to increase by another 18%, reaching $31.2 billion.

Investment in 3D NAND fab equipment is expected to increase by 39% this year, followed by a modest 7% growth next year. Investment in DRAM fab equipment is expected to slow to 4% growth in the second half of this year, before rising by 39% next year.

Foundry fab equipment investment this year is expected to reach $23.2 billion, a 12% increase from last year. Next year, it is expected to increase by 2% to $23.5 billion.

Fab equipment spending in the MPU sector is expected to decline 18% (US$1.2 billion) this year compared to last year, but increase 9% next year to reach US$6 billion.

Fab equipment spending in the analog semiconductor sector is expected to surge 48% this year and grow 6% next year, driven by aggressive investments in mixed-signal and power semiconductors.

Fab equipment investment in the image sensor sector is expected to reach $3 billion this year and grow 11% to $3.4 billion next year.

Meanwhile, SEMI announced that global semiconductor equipment sales in the second quarter of this year increased 26% compared to the same period last year. Global semiconductor equipment sales in the second quarter of this year reached $16.8 billion, a 26% increase compared to the same period last year. This represents an 8% increase compared to the first quarter of this year.

The region with the highest semiconductor equipment sales was China, with approximately $4.59 billion. South Korea, which ranked second, recorded $4.48 billion in semiconductor equipment sales, up 33% from the previous quarter and 74% from the second quarter of last year. Taiwan followed with $3.51 billion in sales, a 13% decrease from the first quarter.