The semiconductor manufacturing equipment market (including services, based on the sales of 36 major companies) surpassed the ¥20 trillion mark for the first time in 2024. It showed a high growth rate of 19.5% year-on-year, supported by robust investment plans from global semiconductor manufacturers as well as local Chinese companies. In addition, Chinese equipment manufacturers are also growing at a pace significantly exceeding the overall market. The assembly and testing sector also achieved high growth due to the expansion of advanced packaging fields, not limited to the front-end process.
In 2024, the earnings of various equipment manufacturers were boosted by semiconductor capital investment in China, which exceeded expectations. Many companies have seen their sales scale increase by 1.5 to 2 times in the three years since 2021, indicating the extent of the expansion of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment market. Among them, many Japanese semiconductor manufacturing equipment companies are showing growth rates exceeding the overall market. Tokyo Electron saw a significant growth of 27%, Advantest 37%, and SCREEN 33%. This is likely due to the steady capture of Chinese semiconductor investment needs, as well as an increase in market share in some areas. In addition to the aforementioned three companies, Canon, Disco, and Lasertec also showed growth exceeding the overall market.
