Semiconductor Equipment

The current world news is awash with stories about this current economic downturn including speculations about its probable depth and duration. Questions loom regarding what it will take to restart the world economies and how to accomplish this restart effectively.

For the semiconductor industry, 2018 was nothing if not incredible. Chip revenue shot up to $469 billion, trouncing the record-setting $412 billion reached in 2017 to reach a new high. Both semiconductor equipment and materials hit record revenues of $65 billion and $52 billion, respectively.

Custer Consulting Group has its first estimate of global electronic equipment growth in 4Q’18 vs. 4Q’17.

The December 2018 edition of the World Fab Forecast Report published by SEMI reveals a downward revision of total fab equipment spending growth for 2018 to 10% from the 14% forecast in August. Spending in 2019 is now projected to drop 8%, a reversal from the previously expected increase of 7%.

Electronic equipment shipments are approaching their seasonal peak for this year. Oct '18 was up 8.4% compared to Oct '17 but only up 0.4% sequentially from Sept '18. As the consumer-driven busy season winds down, electronic equipment and component monthly sales will decline until late next spring.

Global fab equipment spending will increase 14% this year to US$62.8B and is expected to rise 7.5%, to US$67.5B in 2019, marking the highest investment year for fab equipment in the history of the industry, according to SEMI's latest World Fab Forecast Report.

Semiconductor markets in 2017 far outstripped the average revenue forecast of 5% growth at the start of the year, logging a robust 22% increase for a second consecutive year of record revenues, according to the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS).