[News] Global Semiconductor Equipment Market Continues to Expand

Recently, Tokyo Electron (hereinafter referred to as “TEL”) announced plans to build a new production facility in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. The facility will be managed by TEL’s manufacturing subsidiary, TEL Miyagi, and will primarily produce semiconductor manufacturing equipment such as plasma etching systems to meet the rapidly growing demand for semiconductors in recent years.

According to TEL, the estimated construction cost of the new facility is approximately 104 billion yen. Construction is expected to begin in June 2025 and be completed by the summer of 2027. TEL aims to make this facility one of the world’s leading semiconductor equipment factories.

Expansion of the Semiconductor Equipment Market

It is well known that semiconductor manufacturing is a highly complex process, requiring different types of equipment at various stages, including wafer fabrication, packaging, and testing equipment. From a process perspective, semiconductor equipment is also categorized into front-end and back-end equipment.

Currently, the development of artificial intelligence (AI), big data, memory chips, and other industries is driving the global semiconductor sector toward a trillion-dollar market scale. This trend is expected to create more opportunities and growth potential for semiconductor equipment manufacturers.

SEMI previously predicted that global semiconductor equipment sales would reach $113 billion in 2024, representing a 6.5% year-on-year increase. The Chinese market is expected to achieve record-high sales of $49 billion. Additionally, SEMI forecasts that global semiconductor equipment sales will further rise to $121 billion in 2025 and $139 billion in 2026.

The global semiconductor equipment market is currently dominated by major international companies such as ASML, Nikon, Canon, Lam Research, Applied Materials, TEL, ASM, and KLA.

Among them, semiconductor equipment giant ASML released its full-year and Q4 2024 financial report on January 29. The data showed that ASML achieved a record-high net sales revenue of €28.3 billion and a net profit of €7.6 billion for the full year of 2024. In Q4, net sales reached €9.3 billion, while net profit stood at €2.7 billion, both exceeding expectations.

Multiple Chinese A-Share Companies Disclose 2024 Performance Forecasts

Although China’s semiconductor equipment industry still lags behind international manufacturers in terms of technology, significant efforts from the industry and strong government support have enabled China to become the world’s largest semiconductor equipment market, with further growth ahead.

The major semiconductor equipment companies in China include NAURA, AMEC, ACM Research, Hwatsing, Piotech, Jingce Electronics. Based on the 2024 performance forecasts disclosed by multiple companies, the semiconductor equipment market in China is showing positive development.

According to TrendForce, out of the eight A-share semiconductor equipment companies that disclosed their 2024 performance forecasts, five reported revenue growth, and three saw an increase in net profit.

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