Capital equipment spend to increase 35%?
"For 2004, global capital spending is expected to increase by 28%, however, the big question is will the orders for new equipment be released fast and early enough to avoid shortages on the device market?", comments Klaus-Dieter Rinnen, managing vice-president of Gartner’s semiconductor manufacturing and design research group.
"While we have seen encouraging increases in the order rate for new equipment in the past few months, it is still too early to tell. There is still the question as to whether the equipment industry can respond fast enough to the anticipated demand for new equipment. However, it has proven time and time again that it can rapidly ramp its shipment rate in response to an explosion of orders and we expect it will do so again - provided the explosion occurs."
