SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International) announced its 2017 global semiconductor equipment shipments at SEMICON West.

Global semiconductor equipment sales in 2017 are projected to reach $49.4 billion, a 19.8% increase from 2016 ($41.2 billion). This $49.4 billion figure surpasses the previous record of $47.7 billion achieved in 2000. 2018 sales are projected to reach $53.2 billion, a 7.7% increase.

SEMI forecasts that wafer processing equipment will increase 21.7% to $39.8 billion in 2017, while other front-end equipment segments, such as fab facilities, wafer fabrication, and mask/reticle equipment, will increase 25.6% to $2.3 billion. Assembly and packaging equipment segments are projected to grow 12.8% to $3.4 billion, and test equipment segments are projected to increase 6.4% to $3.9 billion.


Korea is a notable market this year. For the first time, Korea is expected to surpass Taiwan, which held the top spot for five consecutive years, to become the largest regional market. Sales growth is expected in all regions except for Other Regions (primarily Southeast Asia), with Korea, Taiwan, China, Japan, North America, Europe, and Other Regions expected to lead equipment sales in that order. Korea had the largest growth rate at 68.7%, followed by Europe at 58.6% and North America at 16.3%.

South Korea is projected to maintain its top regional position with $13.4 billion in sales in 2018, with South Korea, China, and Taiwan rounding out the top three. China, which saw a 5.9% growth rate in 2017, is projected to see its equipment sales increase 61.4% in 2018 to $11 billion, propelling it into second place and demonstrating the highest growth rate among regions. Taiwan is projected to see slightly lower sales compared to 2017, with $10.9 billion.