The report said China is expected to be the main driver of fab equipment spending growth in 2018 and 2019, increasing yearly spending by 57% in 2018 and 60% in 2019 to support fab projects from both multinationals and domestic companies. The China spending surge is forecast to accelerate it past Korea as the top spending region in 2019, which the report said will decline spending by 9% in 2018 and 14% in 2019.
SEMI is also predicting that Samsung will lead in fab equipment spending in 2018/19, with Samsung investing less each year than in 2017.
The report also indicates that 3D NAND is going to lead product sector spending, growing by 3% in 2018 and again in 2019.
DRAM will see also growth, increasing by 26% in 2018, but a decline of 14% is anticipated, the report added.
SEMI is also forecasting that foundries will increase equipment spending by 2% in 2018 and by 26% in 2019, primarily to support 7nm investments and ramp of new capacity.
