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Japan dominates semiconductor capital spending |
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Mar 20, 2007 at 04:40 PM |
 New data from SEMI and the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ) highlight the continued dominance of Japanese semiconductor manufacturers in relation to capital equipment spending.
Japan spent $9.2 billion on equipment in 2006, growing almost 13 percent over 2005 and nearly $2.0 billion more than the next highest spending region, North America. Though SEMI claimed Japan spent more than any other region for the third consecutive year, SEMI's own data shows that this is at least the fourth consecutive year Japan has out-spent all other regions on fab equipment.
Indeed, the figures support SEAJ data just released that highlights Japanese-based equipment companies have experienced 11 consecutive months of above parity book-to-bill ratios, something no other region has achieved.
Overall, worldwide billings totaled $40.47 billion in 2006, compared to $32.88 billion in sales posted in 2005. This represents a year-over-year increase of 23 percent and the second highest sales figure ever achieved, which was set in 2000. The global wafer processing equipment market segment increased 26 percent; the assembly and packaging segment grew 14 percent; and the total test equipment sales increased by 21 percent.
According to the data, the China market region grew the most in 2006, rising over 74 percent to US$2.3 billion. However, capital spending in China for the period has been erratic compared to other regions in the last 4 years and has yet to repeat the highs of 2004 when spending reached $2.68 billion. Only Taiwan has shown more erratic spending behavior than China in recent years, partly due to the heavy influence of foundry spending patterns and the emergence of second-tier memory manufacturers.
Interestingly, China also has remained the smallest equipment purchasing region, based on SEMI's regional breakout data.
Although North American capital spending growth resumed in 2006, mainly due to the Joint Venture activities of IM Flash Technologies and continued investment in new 300mm fabs by Intel, the region is now competing directly for second place with both Taiwan and Korea.
Korean capital spending is dominated by the two major memory manufacturers, Hynix and Samsung. Comparing four consecutive years of spending in the country highlights that Korean chipmakers have systematically increased spending year-on-year and is the only region to have done so in that period.
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