According to a report by SEMI, worldwide sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment reached a new milestone in 2022, with a 5% increase from USD 102.6 billion in 2021 to a record-breaking USD 107.6 billion. Despite a 5% slowdown in investments compared to the previous year, China retained its position as the largest semiconductor equipment market for the third consecutive year, with billings totaling USD 28.3 billion. Taiwan, the second-largest market, experienced an 8% increase to USD 26.8 billion, marking the fourth consecutive year of growth for the region. However, equipment sales to Korea decreased by 14% to USD 21.5 billion.
Notably, Europe witnessed a remarkable surge in annual semiconductor equipment investments with a staggering 93% increase, while North America logged a substantial 38% growth. Sales to the Rest of the World and Japan also saw positive gains, with a 34% and 7% year-over-year increase, respectively.
Ajit Manocha, SEMI president and CEO, attributed the record-high sales to the industry's drive to increase fab capacity to support long-term growth and innovations in key markets such as high-performance computing and automotive. He also highlighted that the results reflect investments and determination across regions to mitigate future supply chain constraints, similar to those experienced during the pandemic.
In terms of equipment segments, global sales of wafer processing equipment rose by 8% in 2022, while other front-end segment billings grew by 11%. However, after a robust growth in 2021, assembly and packaging equipment sales declined by 19% last year, and total test equipment billings contracted by 4% year-over-year.
