Worldwide semiconductor capital spending is projected to increase by 2.9% in 2017, to $69.9 billion, according to Gartner Inc. This is down from 5.1% growth in 2016. The stronger growth in 2016 was fueled by Increased spending in late 2016, which can be attributed to a NAND flash shortage that was more severe in late 2016 and will persist though most of 2017.
“This is due to a better-than-expected market for smartphones, which is driving an upgrade of NAND spending in our latest forecast,” said David Christensen, senior research analyst at Gartner. “NAND spending increased by $3.1 billion in 2016 and several related wafer fab equipment segments showed stronger growth than our previous forecast.”
The thermal, track, and implant segments in 2017 are expected to increase by 2.5%, 5.6%, and 8.4%, respectively.
Compared with early 2016, the semiconductor outlook has improved, particularly in memory, due to stronger pricing and a better-than-expected market for smartphones. An earlier-than-anticipated recovery in memory should lead to growth in 2017 and be slightly enhanced by changes in key applications.
