According to Gartner, global spending on semiconductor manufacturing equipment is expected to decline by 5.5 per cent this year, to total $35.8 billion. In comparison, $37.8 billion was spent in the previous year.
Also, the firm has stated that capital spending is expected to decline by 3.5 per cent in 2013, as major producers remain cautious owing to of market weakness.
Going forward, spending on semiconductor capital is expected to increase by 14.2 per cent in 2014 and by 10.1 per cent in 2015. Thereafter, a marginal decline of 3.5 per cent is expected in 2016, followed by upward growth in 2017.
Further, Gartner says that although capital spending for all products will decline in 2013, logic spending will be the strongest segment, declining by 2 per cent compared with a 3.5 per cent decline in the overall market. This will be accounted for by aggressive investment by leading players, which are ramping up production at the sub-30-nanometer nodes.
