Dec 1 2008
SEMI projects 2008 equipment sales to reach $30.91 billion according to the year-end edition of the SEMI Capital Equipment Forecast, released here today by SEMI at the annual SEMICON Japan exposition.
The forecast indicates that, following 5.7 percent market growth in 2007, the equipment market will decline almost 28 percent in 2008. SEMI expects the market to decline about 21 percent in 2009, and then post almost 31 percent growth in 2010.
"Worldwide semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales have declined to levels last seen in 2003 and we anticipate a second year of double-digit decline in 2009," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "Impaired or nonexistent business trend visibility is pervasive amidst the deteriorating global economy. Therefore our outlook for 2010 is based on patterns of previous industry recoveries."
Wafer processing equipment, the largest product segment by dollar value, is expected to decline by about 28 percent in 2008 to $22.95 billion. Survey respondents anticipate that the market for assembly and packaging equipment will decline by almost 24 percent to $2.16 billion in 2008. The market for equipment to test semiconductors is expected to decline by about 27 percent to $3.69 billion this year.
The Japanese market is projected to decline by about 20 percent, but it will surpass Taiwan to become the leading region for sales of new equipment.
South Korea is expected to decline by about 28 percent in 2008, and sales of new equipment in China will decline by 35 percent, while the Rest-of-World market regions will decline by about 10 percent.
SEMI is the global industry association serving the manufacturing supply chains for the microelectronic, display and photovoltaic industries. SEMI member companies are the engine of the future, enabling smarter, faster and more economical products that improve our lives. Since 1970, SEMI has been committed to helping members grow more profitably, create new markets and meet common industry challenges. SEMI maintains offices in Austin, Beijing, Brussels, Hsinchu, Moscow, San Jose, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C.