2008 semicon equipment sales hits $29.52bn

SAN JOSE, USA: SEMI, the global industry association for companies that supply manufacturing technology and materials to the world’s chip makers, reported that worldwide sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment totaled $29.52 billion in 2008, representing a year-over-year decline of 31 percent. The data is available in the Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Statistics (SEMS) Report, now available from SEMI.

Compiled from data submitted by members of SEMI and the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ), the Worldwide SEMS Report is a summary of the monthly billings and bookings figures for the global semiconductor equipment industry.

The report, which includes data for seven major semiconductor producing regions and 24 product categories, shows worldwide billings totaled $29.52 billion in 2008, compared to $42.77 billion in sales posted in 2007. Categories cover wafer processing, assembly and packaging, test, and other front-end equipment. Other front-end includes mask/reticle manufacturing, wafer manufacturing, and fab facilities equipment.

Spending declined by double-digits for all the regions tracked in the WWSEMS report, with the steepest decline reported for Taiwan. The decline was due to severe cutbacks in spending by memory makers in Taiwan, following a record year in spending for that market. In the overall contracting global market, Japan was the region with the highest amount of spending in 2008 with $7.04 billion in equipment sales. In second place, the North America market had $5.63 billion in sales. (The Rest of World region, which aggregates Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, other areas of Southeast Asia and smaller global markets)

The global wafer processing equipment market segment decreased 31 percent; the assembly and packaging segment decreased 28 percent, the total test equipment sales decreased 32 percent. Other front end equipment sales declined by 32 percent.

2007-2008 Semiconductor Capital Equipment Market by World Region

(Dollars in US Billions; Percentage Year-over-Year)