Worldwide Chip Equipment Billings Hit Record $107.6B in 2022

Worldwide sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment increased by 5% from $102.6 billion in 2021 to an all-time record of $107.6 billion last year, according to SEMI.

For the third consecutive year, China remained the largest semiconductor equipment market in 2022 despite a 5% slowdown in the pace of investments in the region year over year, accounting for $28.3 billion in billings. Taiwan, the second-largest destination for equipment spending, recorded an increase of 8% to $26.8 billion, marking the fourth straight year of growth for the region.

Equipment sales to South Korea contracted by 14% to $21.5 billion. Annual semiconductor equipment investments in Europe surged 93%, while North America logged a 38% increase. Sales to the Rest of World and Japan increased by 34% and 7% year over year, respectively.

“The record high for semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales in 2022 stems from the industry’s drive to add the fab capacity required to support long-term growth and innovations in key end markets including high-performance computing and automotive,” said Ajit Manocha, SEMI president and CEO. “Additionally, the results reflect investments and determination across regions to avoid future semiconductor supply chain constraints like those that surfaced during the pandemic.”

Global sales of wafer processing equipment rose by 8% in 2022, while other front-end segment billings grew 11%. After robust growth in 2021, assembly and packaging equipment sales decreased 19% last year while total test equipment billings contracted 4% year over year.

Compiled from data submitted by members of SEMI and the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ), the WWSEMS Report is a summary of the monthly billings figures for the global semiconductor equipment industry.