China will unseat South Korea as the largest market of semiconductor manufacturing equipment in 2019, when global sales hit another record-high levels, according to SEMI.

Worldwide sales of semiconductor equipment are projected to increase 10.8% to US$62.7 billion in 2018, exceeding the historic high of US$56.6 billion set last year, SEMI said. Another record-breaking year for the market is expected in 2019, with 7.7% forecast growth to US$67.6 billion.

The wafer processing equipment market is forecast to increase 11.7% to US$50.8 billion in 2018, while the other front-end segment consisting of fab facilities equipment, wafer manufacturing, and mask/reticle equipment will climb 12.3% to US$2.8 billion, SEMI indicated. The assembly and packaging equipment segment is projected to grow 8.0% to US$4.2 billion in 2018, while semiconductor test equipment is forecast to increase 3.5% to US$4.9 billion.

In 2018, South Korea will remain the largest equipment market for the second year in a row, SEMI noted. China will rise in the rankings to claim the second spot for the first time, dislodging Taiwan, which will fall to the third position. All regions tracked except Taiwan will experience growth. China will lead in growth with 43.5%, followed by Japan at 32.1%, Rest of World (primarily Southeast Asia) at 19.3%, Europe at 11.6%, North America at 3.8% and South Korea at 0.1%.

SEMI forecast that in 2019, equipment sales in China will surge 46.6% to US$17.3 billion. In 2019, China, South Korea, and Taiwan are forecast to remain the top three markets, with China rising to the top. South Korea is forecast to become the second largest market at US$16.3 billion, while Taiwan is expected to reach US$12.3 billion in equipment sales.

By: DocMemory
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