2018 Global semi equipment sales jump to record $64.5B

For the second consecutive year, Korea claimed the largest market for new semiconductor equipment with USD 17.71 billion in sales, followed by China, rising to become the second largest equipment market for the first time with sales of USD 13.11 billion and displacing Taiwan, which fell to the third position with sales of USD 10.17 billion. Annual spending rates increased for China, Japan, Rest of World (primarily Southeast Asia), Europe, and North America. However, new equipment markets in Taiwan and South Korea contracted. The 2018 equipment market rankings for Japan, North America, Europe, and Rest of World remained unchanged from 2017. Sales for the global wafer processing equipment market segment rose 15% while other front-end segment sales jumped 9%. Total test equipment sales increased 20% as assembly and packaging sales increased 2%.