An analysis by Gartner predicts that capital spending by manufacturers in all areas of the semiconductor industry will increase 7.1% to $62.27 billion in 2014. Spending declined 1.2% in 2013 to $58.0 billion. Within capital spending, spending on capital equipment and on wafer-fab equipment will grow by 15.0% and 16.1% to $38.5 billion and $31.7 billion, respectively, compared with 2013 declines of 11.6% and 8.0% to $33.5 billion and $27.3 billion, respectively. The increase in wafer-fab spending will result from companies shifting their focus from construction to augmenting capacity. Over half of capital spending in 2014 is predicted to be by the top 3 companies in the industry, Intel, TSMC and Samsung, with the top 10 companies accounting for 77%. Revenues in the semiconductor industry rose 5.0% and 6.7% to $315 billion and $336 billion in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Gartner forecasts capital spending to continue to increase overall through 2018, with a small decrease in 2016.

Source: Gartner