Global sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are forecasted to reach an unprecedented $109 billion in 2024, marking a 3.4% year-on-year growth, according to SEMI’s Mid-Year Total Semiconductor Equipment Forecast unveiled at SEMICON West 2024. This growth trajectory is expected to continue into 2025, with sales predicted to soar to $128 billion, driven by robust demand in both front-end and back-end segments.
The wafer fab equipment segment, encompassing wafer processing, fab facilities, and mask/reticle equipment, is set to grow by 2.8% to $98 billion in 2024, up from $96 billion last year. This revision from the previous $93 billion forecast is fueled by significant investments in China and rising demand for DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) due to AI computing. By 2025, wafer fab equipment sales are projected to increase by 14.7%, reaching $113 billion, propelled by advanced logic and memory applications.
After two years of contraction, the back-end equipment segment is expected to recover in the latter half of 2024. Sales of semiconductor test equipment are anticipated to rise by 7.4% to $6.7 billion, while assembly and packaging equipment sales are predicted to grow by 10.0% to $4.4 billion. This growth is expected to accelerate in 2025, with test equipment sales surging by 30.3% and assembly and packaging sales increasing by 34.9%. This rebound is supported by the growing complexity of semiconductor devices for high-performance computing and a recovery in demand across automotive, industrial, and consumer electronics markets.
• Key Findings:
• Wafer Fab Equipment: Expected to grow by 2.8% to $98 billion in 2024, reaching $113 billion by 2025.
• Back-End Equipment: Projected recovery with a 7.4% increase in test equipment sales and a 10.0% rise in assembly and packaging equipment sales in 2024.
• Regional Spending: China to lead equipment spending, projected to exceed $35 billion in 2024, despite expected contractions in other regions in 2024 with rebounds in 2025.
