SCOTTSDALE, AZ – IC Insights has raised its expectations for 2018 capital spending by six percentage points to a 14% increase. If this occurs, it would be the first time semiconductor industry capital outlays exceeded $100 billion. The worldwide 2018 capital spending forecast figure is 53% higher than 2016 spending.

Samsung said it will spend less in semiconductor capital outlays in 2018 compared to 2017, when it spent $24.2 billion. Samsung spent $6.72 billion in capex for its semiconductor division in the first quarter of this year, slightly higher than the average of the previous three quarters. This figure is almost four times the amount the company spent in the first quarter of 2016. Over the past four quarters, Samsung has spent $26.6 billion in capital outlays for its semiconductor group.

IC Insights estimates Samsung’s semiconductor group capital spending will be $20 billion this year, $4.2 billion less than it spent in 2017.

With the DRAM and NAND flash memory markets still strong, SK Hynix is expected to ramp up its capital spending in 2018 to $11.5 billion, up 42% over 2017.

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