MILPITAS, CA – Fab equipment spending is expected to reach an industry all-time record of more than $46 billion in 2017, according to SEMI.

The record is expected to be broken again in 2018, nearing the $50 billion mark. These record-busting years are part of three consecutive years of growth, which has not occurred since the mid-1990s, SEMI says.

Spending is mainly directed toward memory (3D NAND and DRAM), Foundry and MPU.  Other strong product segments are Discretes (with LED and Power), Logic, MEMS (with MEMS/RF), and Analog/Mixed Signal.

China is expected to run third for regional spending in 2017, even though China’s annual growth is minimal for the year (about 1%), as many of the new fab projects are in the construction phase. China is constructing 14 new fabs this year and equipping them in 2018. China’s annual spending growth rate in 2018 will be more than 55% (more than $10 billion), ranking second for worldwide spending for the year.

In total for 2017, China is equipping 48 fabs, with equipment spending of $6.7 billion. Looking ahead to 2018, SEMI predicts 49 fabs to be
equipped, spending about $10 billion.

Other regions also show solid growth rates.  Europe/Mideast and Korea are expected to make the largest leaps in terms of growth rates this year, with 47% growth and 45% growth, respectively, year-over-year.  Japan will increase spending 28%, followed by the Americas with 21%.