South Korea's semiconductor equipment sales in the third quarter of 2021 grew 32% year-on-year, driven by strong global demand for semiconductors.

SEMI, an industry association representing the global electronics industry supply chain, recently released its 'Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Statistics (WWSEMS)' report.

According to this, global semiconductor equipment sales in the third quarter of this year reached $26.79 billion, a 38% increase year-on-year. This represents an 8% increase from the previous quarter and marks the fifth consecutive quarter of record-breaking sales.

South Korea's semiconductor equipment sales in the third quarter reached $5.58 billion, a 32% increase year-on-year. Compared to the previous quarter, sales decreased by 16%. It ranked 3rd in regional rankings.

The region with the highest sales was Taiwan, which recorded $7.33 billion, a 54% increase over the same period last year.

China's total increased by 29% year-on-year to $7.27 billion.

North America saw a 67% year-on-year increase to $2.29 billion, while Japan saw a 6% year-on-year decrease to $2.11 billion.

“Strong demand for semiconductor chips across a wide range of sectors, including communications, computing, healthcare, online services and automotive, has driven record growth in semiconductor equipment,” said Ajit Manocha, CEO of SEMI. “Despite the ongoing pandemic and chip shortages, the semiconductor industry has demonstrated strong resilience.”