2015 semiconductor equipment sales reched $36.5 billion

2015 total equipment bookings were 5 percent lower than in 2014. SEMI's data shows worldwide billings totaled USD 36.53 billion in 2015, compared to USD 37.50 billion in sales posted in 2015. 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 rates increased for Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and China, while the new equipment markets in North America, Rest of World, and Europe contracted. Taiwan remained the largest market for new semiconductor equipment for the fourth year in a row with USD 9.64 billion in equipment sales. The expanding markets in South Korea and Japan surpassed the North American market, to claim the second and third largest markets, respectively, while North America fell to fourth place at USD 5.12 billion. The China market remained larger than the Rest of World and European markets. The global other front end segment increased 16 percent; the wafer processing equipment market segment decreased 2 percent; total test equipment sales decreased 6 percent; and the assembly and packaging segment decreased 18 percent. Semiconductor Capital Equipment Market by World Region (2014-2015)

	2015	2014	% Change
Taiwan	9.64	9.41	2%
South Korea	7.47	6.84	9%
Japan	5.49	4.18	31%
North America	5.12	8.16	-37%
China	4.90	4.37	12%
Rest of World	1.97	2.15	-9%
Europe	1.94	2.38	-19%
Total	36.53	37.50	-3%