International Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Association Announces $36.5 Billion in Revenue for 2015

The Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) announced in its World Semiconductor Equipment Market Statistics (WWSEMS) report that global semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales in 2015 amounted to $36.5 billion, a 3% decrease from the previous year. Total equipment orders in 2015 fell by 5% compared to 2014.

▲ View of the Semicon exhibition (unrelated to the article content)

The WWSEMS report, based on data submitted by member companies of SEMI and the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ), summarizes the monthly billing and booking figures for the global semiconductor equipment industry.


▲ Semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales by region ( Source: SEMI/SEAJ March 2016)

According to this report, which aggregated data by seven major semiconductor production regions and 24 product categories, total shipments in 2014 amounted to $37.5 billion, while shipments in 2015 amounted to $36.5 billion. The sectors included in this data are wafer processing, assembly and packaging, testing, and other front-end process equipment (mask/reticle and wafer manufacturing, fab support equipment).

Taiwan maintains No. 1 position in new semiconductor equipment sales for 4 consecutive years... Korean market ranks second.

By region, sales increased in Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and China, while sales decreased in North America, Europe, and other regions. Taiwan maintained its position as the top seller of new semiconductor equipment for the fourth consecutive year, recording $9.64 billion in revenue this year. The South Korean and Japanese markets surpassed the North American region ($5.12 billion in revenue) to rank second and third, respectively. The Chinese market showed higher figures than the revenues of Europe and other regions.

Looking at equipment sectors, the global front-end equipment sector rose 16%, while the wafer process equipment sector fell 2%. The test equipment sector dropped 6%, and the assembly and packaging sector fell 18%.