Semiconductor market will grow by 15.2% next year

According to SEMI's latest year-end forecast, the global semiconductor manufacturing equipment market revenue in 2014 will reach 38 billion US dollars, an increase of 19.3% over the previous year, and the global semiconductor manufacturing equipment market will continue to grow until 2015, and is expected to grow by 15.2% next year.

SEMI's year-end projections indicate that all types of wafer processing equipment are still the top contributors to the revenue of equipment, and are expected to increase by 17.8% in 2014 to reach US$29.9 billion. The packaging equipment market is estimated to increase by 30.6% to $3 billion; the semiconductor test equipment market is also expected to increase by 26.5% to $3.4 billion. Other product categories (including fab equipment, photomasks, and wafer fabrication equipment) rose by 14.8% in 2014.

Analyzed by the regional market, Taiwan, South Korea, and North America are still the largest capital expenditures for semiconductor equipment and are showing growth. According to SEMI's estimates, in 2015, sales of semiconductor equipment in Taiwan are expected to increase by 28.1% to US$12.3 billion, and will once again be ranked as the world’s largest market. Cao Shilun, president of SEMI Taiwan, stated: “Taiwan’s semiconductor investment in wafer generation Driven by the work, memory, and packaging and testing companies, continued steady growth will further consolidate Taiwan’s leading position in the global semiconductor industry.”