Global semiconductor equipment sales in 2022 set a new record for the third consecutive year, reaching an all-time high.

According to SEMI, an industry association representing the global advanced industrial supply chain, semiconductor equipment sales in 2022 are expected to reach $108.5 billion, up 5.9% from the record high of $102.5 billion in 2021.

This will likely mark the third consecutive year that global semiconductor equipment sales have reached record highs.

Although a decline to $91.2 billion is expected in 2023, a rebound is expected in 2024 with growth in both front-end and back-end processes.

“Global semiconductor equipment sales have surpassed $100 billion for the second consecutive year, driven by record new fabs,” said Ajit Manocha, CEO of SEMI. “We expect the semiconductor industry to continue growing for the next decade as new applications emerge, driving additional investment to expand production capacity.”

Revenue in the wafer fab equipment segment, which includes wafer processing, fab facilities, and mask/reticle equipment, is expected to reach a new record of $94.8 billion in 2022, growing 8.3% year-over-year, before declining 16.8% year-over-year to $78.8 billion in 2023.

On the other hand, it is expected to grow by 17.2% again in 2024.A rebound of $92.4 billion is expected this year.

In particular, equipment sales in the foundry and logic sectors, which account for more than half of total wafer fab equipment sales, are projected to increase 16% year-on-year to $53 billion this year, driven by strong demand for advanced nodes. However, sales are expected to slow somewhat in 2023, declining 9%.

Due to weakening demand for memory and storage, DRAM equipment sales are expected to decline 10% to $14.3 billion in 2022 and 25% to $10.8 billion in 2023. NAND equipment sales are expected to decline 4% this year to $19 billion and 36% to $12.2 billion in 2023.

The back-end equipment sector is expected to see a slight decline. Semiconductor test equipment sales, which recorded robust 30% growth in 2021, are expected to decline 2.6% this year to $7.6 billion, and then another 7.3% to $7.1 billion next year. Assembly and packaging equipment sales, which saw a remarkable 87% growth in 2021, are expected to decline 14.9% to $6.1 billion in 2022, and then another 13.3% to $5.3 billion in 2023.

On the other hand, in 2024, test equipment sales are expected to grow by 15.8% and packaging equipment sales are expected to grow by 24.1%.

South Korea, China, and Taiwan are expected to remain the top three buyers of semiconductor equipment in 2022.

China is expected to maintain its top spot next year after first taking the top spot in 2020, with Taiwan expected to retake the top spot in 2024.

Equipment spending in all other regions except Korea is expected to increase in 2022, but most are expected to decline in 2023 before rebounding in 2024.