Semiconductor capex predicted to jump 24 percent in 2022

Heralding the first three-year period of double-digit spending increases since 1993-1995, IC Insights predicts this year’s semiconductor industry capex will reach 190.4 billion dollars, a 24 percent increase YoY. The expected new all-time high will be up 86 percent from three years earlier in 2019. Cumulatively, the semiconductor industry is set to spend over 457 billion dollars in 2020 through 2022, up 50 percent from the 2017-2019 period. Over the next few years, many companies’ outlays are likely to revert to a capital spending as a percent of sales ratio of somewhere near pre-pandemic levels.