Global fab equipment spending to hit record in 2021
Projection bullish but COVID-19 still lurks, SEMI says
Global fab equipment spending will grow 24% to reach US$67.7 billion in 2021, research firm SEMI said.
US$30 billion will be spent on memory fab equipment with US$29 billion invested in logic and foundry fab equipment, the firm said.
Spending into 3D NAND flash equipment will increase 30% this year from a year ago. It will increase by 17% year over year in 2021.
Spending into DRAM will decline 11% this year but rise 50% in 2021.
Investments into logid and foundry equipment will drop 11% this year but increase by 16% next year. Image sensors will show the most impressive growth with a rise of 60% this year and 36% in 2021.
Spending into analogue semiconductor will rise 40% in 2020 and 13% in 2021. Power semiconductor spending will rise 16% this year and 67% next year.
However, despite the bullish projections, threats from the COVID-19 pandemic still lurk, SEMI stressed.
“Pandemic-related layoffs, with more than 40 million workers idled in the United States alone (as of May), and company closures will trigger ripple effects in consumer markets and discretionary spending. For instance, rising unemployment will lead to falling smartphone and new car sales.
“Despite those downdrafts, digital transformation and the need to communicate will still drive industry growth as cloud services, server storage, gaming and health applications spur demand for memory and IT-related devices,” the research firm said.