Fab spending to be flat in 2013

LONDON – Spending on fabrication equipment for wafer fabs is going to remain flat at about $31.7 billion in 2013 before increasing by 24 percent to $39.3 billion in 2014, according to industry body SEMI.

Depending on various macro-economic risk factors, SEMI projects that fab spending in 2013 could be between -3 percent to +3 percent of the 2012 total. However, the construction of wafer fab shells will increase by 6.7 percent in 2013.

Equipment spending is moving forward at the leading-edge and fab equipment spending for 17-nm and below is expected to start in 2013 and then climb to $25 billion in 2014, more than half the total.

Fab construction spending is led by TSMC, with seven different projects for the year; followed by Intel. Fab construction spending in China will increase by a factor of four due to Samsung's NAND flash fab in Xian.

As a result of these moves manufacturing capacity is forecast to expand by 2.8 percent in 2013 and by 5.4 percent in 2014.


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