+44 (0)24 7671 8970
More publications     •     Advertise with us     •     Contact us
 
News Article

Semi Capex forecast to exceed $100 billion for the first time in 2018

News

IC Insights recently released its May Update to the 2018 McClean Report. This Update included a look at the top-25 1Q18 semiconductor suppliers, a discussion of the 1Q18 IC industry market results, and an update of the 2018 capital spending forecast by company.

Overall, the capital spending story for 2018 is becoming much more positive as compared with the forecast presented in IC Insights' March Update to The McClean Report 2018 (MR18). In the March Update, IC Insights forecast an 8% increase in semiconductor industry capital spending for this year. However, as shown in Figure 1, IC Insights has raised its expectations for 2018 capital spending by six percentage points to a 14% increase. If this increase occurs, it would be the first time that semiconductor industry capital outlays exceeded $100 billion. The worldwide 2018 capital spending forecast figure is 53% higher than the spending just two years earlier in 2016.

Although Samsung says it still does not have a full-year capital spending forecast for this year it did say it will spend "less" in semiconductor capital outlays in 2018 as compared to 2017, when it spent $24.2 billion. However, as of 1Q18, with regard to its capex, its "foot is still on the gas!" Samsung spent $6.72 billion in capex for its semiconductor division in 1Q18, slightly higher than the average of the previous three quarters. This figure is almost 4x the amount the company spent just two years earlier in 1Q16! Over the past four quarters, Samsung has spent an incredible $26.6 billion in capital outlays for its semiconductor group. Wow!

IC Insights has estimated Samsung's semiconductor group capital spending will be $20.0 billion this year, $4.2 billion less than it spent in 2017. However, given the strong start to its spending this year, it appears there is currently more upside than downside potential to this forecast.

With the DRAM and NAND flash memory markets still very strong, SK Hynix is expected to ramp up its capital spending this year to $11.5 billion, 42% greater than the $8.1 billion it spent in 2017. The increased spending by SK Hynix this year will primarily focus on bringing on-line two large memory fabs"”M15, a 3D NAND flash fab in Cheongju, South Korea and its expansion of its huge DRAM fab in Wuxi, China. The Cheongju fab is being pushed to open before the end of this year. The Wuxi fab is also targeted to open by the end of this year, a few months earlier than its original planned start date of early 2019.

Figure 1

Purdue, imec, Indiana announce partnership
Resilinc partners with SEMI on supply chain resilience
NIO and NXP collaborate on 4D imaging radar deployment
Panasonic Industry digitally transforms with Blue Yonder
Global semiconductor sales decrease 8.7%
MIT engineers “grow” atomically thin transistors on top of computer chips
Keysight joins TSMC Open Innovation Platform 3DFabric Alliance
Leti Innovation Days to explore microelectronics’ transformational role
Quantum expansion
indie launches 'breakthrough' 120 GHz radar transceiver
Wafer fab equipment - facing uncertain times?
Renesas expands focus on India
Neuralink selects Takano Wafer Particle Measurement System
Micron reveals committee members
Avoiding unscheduled downtime in with Preventive Vacuum Service
NFC chip market size to surpass US$ 7.6 billion
Fujifilm breaks ground on new €30 million European expansion
Fraunhofer IIS/EAS selects Achronix embedded FPGAs
Siemens announces certifications for TSMC’s latest processes
EU Chips Act triggers further €7.4bn investment
ASE recognised for excellence by Texas Instruments
Atomera signs license agreement with STMicroelectronics
Gartner forecasts worldwide semiconductor revenue to decline 11% in 2023
CHIPS for America outlines vision for the National Semiconductor Technology Center
TSMC showcases new technology developments
Alphawave Semi showcases 3nm connectivity solutions
Greene Tweed to open new facility in Korea
Infineon enables next-generation automotive E/E architectures
Global AFM market to reach $861.5 million
Cepton expands proprietary chipset
Semtech adds two industry veterans to board of directors
Specialty gas expansion
×
Search the news archive

To close this popup you can press escape or click the close icon.
Logo
×
Logo
×
Register - Step 1

You may choose to subscribe to the Silicon Semiconductor Magazine, the Silicon Semiconductor Newsletter, or both. You may also request additional information if required, before submitting your application.


Please subscribe me to:

 

You chose the industry type of "Other"

Please enter the industry that you work in:
Please enter the industry that you work in: