TOKYO – Worldwide sales of new semiconductor manufacturing equipment are projected to increase 9.7% to $62.1 billion in 2018, a new record. The equipment market is expected to contract 4% percent in 2019 but grow 20.7% to reach $71.9 billion in 2020, an all-time high, says SEMI.

Wafer processing equipment will rise 10.2% in 2018 to $50.2 billion, SEMI predicts. The other front-end segment – consisting of fab facilities equipment, wafer manufacturing, and mask/reticle equipment – is expected to increase 0.9% to $2.5 billion this year. The assembly and packaging equipment segment is projected to grow 1.9% to $4 billion in 2018, while semiconductor test equipment is forecast to increase 15.6% to $5.4 billion.

In 2018, South Korea will remain the largest equipment market for the second year in a row. China will rise in the rankings to claim the second spot for the first time, dislodging Taiwan, which will fall to the third position. All regions tracked, except Taiwan, North America, and Korea, will experience growth. China will lead in growth with 55.7%, followed by Japan at 32.5%, rest of world (primarily Southeast Asia) at 23.7%, and Europe at 14.2%.

For 2019, SEMI forecasts South Korea, China, and Taiwan will remain the top three markets, with all three regions maintaining their relative rankings. Equipment sales in South Korea are forecast to reach $13.2 billion, in China $12.5 billion, and in Taiwan $11.8 billion. Japan, Taiwan and North America are the only regions expected to experience growth next year. The growth picture is much more optimistic in 2020, with all regional markets expected to increase in 2020, with the market increasing the most in Korea, followed by China, and rest of world, according to SEMI.

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