Fab tool spending projected to decline in 2012

SAN FRANCISCO—Worldwide sales of new semiconductor manufacturing equipment are set to grow 4.7 percent in 2011, but forecast to decrease by roughly 10.8 percent next year before returning to growth in 2013, according to the fab tool vendor trade group SEMI.

SEMI (San Jose, Calif.) projects that sales of new semiconductor equipment will reach $41.8 billion in 2011, following a 151 percent market increase in 2011. Equipment revenues of $41.8 billion are roughly equivalent with 2007 investment levels, SEMI said during the annual Semicon Japan exposition near Tokyo.

"Given the exceptional growth in the market from 2009 to 2010, the lower growth rate in 2011 is   expected, not surprising," said Denny McGuirk, SEMI's president and CEO, in a statement. "The industry experiences highly cyclical markets, with the rebound likely to occur in 2013."

Wafer processing equipment, the largest product segment by dollar value, is expected to increase 9.3 percent in 2011 to almost $32.7 billion, SEMI said. The forecast predicts that the market for assembly and packaging equipment will decline by 12.5 percent to $3.4 billion in 2011. The market for semiconductor test equipment is forecasted to decline by 10.3 percent, reaching $3.7 billion this year, according to the forecast.



Fab tool spending projected to decline in 2012