The Marketing Minute: Staying Positive When the Market Isn’t
Marcy’s Musings: Continuing to Invent the Future With SEL
It’s Only Common Sense: Why Failure Is an Opportunity for Growth
New Semiconductor Fabs to Spur Surge In Equipment Spending
June 23, 2021 | SEMIEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Semiconductor manufacturers worldwide will have started construction on 19 new high-volume fabs by the end of this year and break ground on another 10 in 2022 to meet accelerating demand for chips across a wide range of markets including communications, computing, healthcare, online services and automotive, SEMI highlighted in its quarterly World Fab Forecast report.
“Equipment spending for these 29 fabs is expected to surpass $140 billion over the next few years as the industry pushes to address the global chip shortage,” said Ajit Manocha, SEMI president and CEO. “In the medium and longer term, the fab capacity expansion will help meet projected strong demand for semiconductors stemming from emerging applications such as autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and 5G to 6G communications.”
China and Taiwan will lead the way in the new fab construction starts with eight each, followed by the Americas with six, Europe/Mideast with three, Japan and Korea with two each (Figure 1). Fabs that produce 300mm wafers will account for most of the new facilities – 15 – in 2021 and again in 2022, when seven fabs will begin construction. The remaining seven fabs planned over the two-year period will be 100mm, 150mm and 200mm facilities. The 29 fabs could produce as many as 2.6 million wafers per month (in 200mm equivalents).
Share on:
Testimonial
"Our marketing partnership with I-Connect007 is already delivering. Just a day after our press release went live, we received a direct inquiry about our updated products!"
Rachael Temple - AlltematedSuggested Items
Automated Production Equipment and Manncorp Announce Strategic Partnership to Expand SMT Solutions for U.S. Electronics Manufacturers
08/06/2025 | Automated Production EquipmentAutomated Production Equipment (APE), a trusted supplier of high-performance soldering and rework systems, proudly announces a strategic partnership with Manncorp, a leading provider of Surface Mount Technology (SMT) production equipment. This collaboration brings together two industry leaders to deliver expanded, end-to-end SMT solutions to electronics manufacturers across North America.
The Chemical Connection: Sales Organization from a Capital Equipment Perspective
07/22/2025 | Don Ball -- Column: The Chemical ConnectionThe sales organization for a capital equipment supplier to the PCB industry tends to differ slightly from a supplier that manufactures and sells circuit boards to their customers. After all, our sales depend on the printed circuit board manufacturer’s sales. If business falls off, you tend to delay or reconsider the need for new or upgraded capital equipment, and then our sales fall off. If your sales go up and you need to increase capacity or replace old equipment, our sales also trend upwards.
IPC-CFX, 2.0: How to Use the QPL Effectively
07/02/2025 | Chris Jorgensen, Global Electronics AssociationIn part one of this series, we discussed the new features in CFX Version 2.0 and their implications for improved inter-machine communication. But what about bringing this new functionality to the shop floor? The IPC-CFX-2591 QPL is a powerful technical resource for manufacturers seeking CFX-enabled equipment. The Qualified Product List (QPL) helps streamline equipment selection by listing models verified for CFX compliance through a robust third-party virtual qualification process.
Technica USA Announces New Strategic Partnership with I.T.C. Intercircuit Production GmbH
06/24/2025 | Technica USATechnica USA is pleased to announce a new distribution and representative agreement with I.T.C. Intercircuit Production GmbH, a globally recognized manufacturer of advanced equipment for the PCB manufacturing industry.
Smart Automation: The Power of Data Integration in Electronics Manufacturing
06/24/2025 | Josh Casper -- Column: Smart AutomationAs EMS companies adopt automation, machine data collection and integration are among the biggest challenges. It’s now commonplace for equipment to collect and output vast amounts of data, sometimes more than a manufacturer knows what to do with. While many OEM equipment vendors offer full-line solutions, most EMS companies still take a vendor-agnostic approach, selecting the equipment companies that best serve their needs rather than a single-vendor solution.