Semiconductor equipment spending experiences record 131% growth in 2010
1 min read
Global semiconductor capital equipment spending is on pace to reach $38.4billion in 2010, a 131.2% increase from 2009 spending of $16.6bn according to Gartner. The market analyst forecasts that spending will essentially be flat in 2011 as worldwide semiconductor capital equipment spending will total $38bn, a 1% decline from 2010.
"2010 will be the strongest growth year ever for the semiconductor equipment industry, a nice rebound from the worst year ever in 2009," said Klaus Rinnen, managing vice president at Gartner. "Companies should prepare for a softer 2011, where equipment purchases will focus more on capacity than technology equipment."
According to Rinnen, there will be two major trends that will shape capital spending. "The first of these trends is the emergence of NAND Flash as the leading memory segment in terms of capital spending," he said. "NAND demand, fueled by the phenomenal success of media tablets, will continue strongly for the foreseeable future, and require continued high levels of investment to meet surging demand.
"The second trend is the strength in foundry spending, driven by competition between TSMC, Globalfoundries and Samsung at the leading edge, and by the continued move to an asset lite strategy by the majority of the world's integrated device manufacturers."
All segments of the semiconductor capital equipment market experienced exceptionally strong growth rates ranging from 118% to 140% in 2010 (see table above).
