China saved semiconductor equipment market from major dip

China was the largest semiconductor equipment market in 2023, claiming 34 percent of global sales. The pace of investments in China accelerated 29 percent year-over-year, reaching 36.6 billion dollars in billings last year. By contrast, the market as a whole edged down 1.3 percent to 106.3 billion dollars from an all-time record of 107.6 billion dollars in 2022, according to data published by Semi.

“Despite a slight dip in global equipment sales, the semiconductor industry continues to show strength, with strategic investments fueling growths in key regions,” says Semi CEO Ajit Manocha. “The overall results for the year were better than anticipated by most industry followers.”

Global sales of wafer processing equipment rose 1 percent in 2023, while other front-end segment billings grew 10 percent. After contracting in 2022, assembly and packaging equipment sales extended their decline, decreasing 30 percent in 2023, while total test equipment billings fell 17 percent year-over-year.