According to the latest report "Semiconductor Equipment Forecast - OEM Perspective" released by SEMI, the total sales of global semiconductor manufacturing equipment are expected to reach 133 billion US dollars in 2025, achieving a 13.7% year-on-year growth and setting a new record high. It is projected that in 2026 and 2027, this figure will further increase to 145 billion US dollars and 156 billion US dollars respectively. This growth is mainly driven by investments in artificial intelligence-related areas, covering advanced logic, storage, and advanced packaging, among others.
Ajit Manocha, the President and CEO of SEMI, emphasized in the report: "Global semiconductor equipment sales are showing a strong growth trend. Both front-end equipment and back-end equipment are expected to maintain growth for three consecutive years. By 2027, the total industry sales will exceed 150 billion US dollars for the first time. Due to the investment scale driven by AI demand exceeding the previous expectations since the forecast was released in the middle of the year, we have accordingly raised the growth expectations for each market segment."
Predictions related to semiconductor equipment
Wafer manufacturing equipment (WFE) encompasses various devices used for wafer processing, inspection, and supporting facilities in wafer factories. The sales in this field exceeded 104 billion US dollars last year, setting a new historical record. According to projections, the sales of wafer manufacturing equipment will increase by 11.0% year-on-year in 2025, reaching 115.7 billion US dollars. This figure is further revised upwards from SEMI's forecast (110.8 billion US dollars) in its equipment outlook report for the mid-term of 2025.
The upward revision of this forecast is mainly due to the significant increase in the demand for artificial intelligence computing, which has led to an investment scale in DRAM and HBM exceeding previous expectations in the market. At the same time, the continuous capacity expansion in the Chinese market has also provided strong support for the demand for wafer manufacturing equipment. Looking ahead, in the context of chip manufacturers continuously increasing their investment in advanced logic and storage technologies, the sales of wafer manufacturing equipment are expected to increase by 9.0% in 2026, 7.3% in 2027, and ultimately reach 135.2 billion US dollars.
The market for semiconductor post-processing equipment is expected to continue its rapid recovery trend since 2024. Among them, the sales of semiconductor testing equipment are expected to increase by 48.1% significantly in 2025, reaching 11.2 billion US dollars; the sales of packaging and assembly equipment are expected to grow by 19.6%, reaching 6.4 billion US dollars. In terms of future development, the sales of testing equipment are expected to increase by 12.0% in 2026 and 7.1% in 2027 respectively, while the packaging and assembly equipment are expected to achieve growth of 9.2% and 6.9% respectively during the same period.
The main factors driving the growth in this field include: the increasing complexity of chip architectures, the accelerated application of advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration technologies, as well as the continuous improvement in performance requirements for artificial intelligence and high-bandwidth memory chips. However, it should also be noted that the demand from end markets such as consumer electronics, automobiles, and industry remains weak, which to some extent has restrained the overall growth potential of this sector and has exerted continuous pressure on some mainstream testing and packaging sub-markets.
Predictions related to wafer manufacturing equipment
Supported by the investment demand for advanced manufacturing nodes, the sales of wafer manufacturing equipment for foundry and logic chip sectors are expected to increase by 9.8% year-on-year in 2025, reaching 66.6 billion US dollars. As chip manufacturers actively expand the production capacity of AI accelerators, high-performance computing chips, and high-end mobile processors, the sales in this niche sector are expected to grow by 5.5% in 2026 and 6.9% in 2027, reaching 75.2 billion US dollars. As the industry gradually moves towards the large-scale mass production stage of 2nm GAA technology, related capital investment will continue to focus on cutting-edge technology areas.
In the context of the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence applications, the demand for high-bandwidth memory continues to rise. Coupled with the continuous evolution of storage technology, it is expected that the capital expenditure in the storage sector will experience a significant increase by 2027.
Driven by the breakthrough of 3D NAND stacking technology and the active expansion of production by leading manufacturers, the sales volume of NAND flash memory equipment is expected to increase by 45.4% in 2025, reaching 14 billion US dollars; it will continue to grow by 12.7% in 2026, rising to 15.7 billion US dollars; and it is expected to further increase by 7.3% in 2027, reaching 16.9 billion US dollars.
In the field of DRAM devices, as storage manufacturers accelerate the mass production process of high-bandwidth memory and upgrade to more advanced manufacturing processes to meet the demands of artificial intelligence and data centers, their sales are expected to increase by 15.4% in 2025, reaching 22.5 billion US dollars; and they are projected to grow by 15.1% in 2026 and 7.8% in 2027 respectively.
i-stock Smart Logistics
In the context where global semiconductor equipment investment continues to reach new highs due to the artificial intelligence wave, and where the industry's requirements for manufacturing efficiency and intelligence have been unprecedentedly raised, as a leading domestic manufacturer of semiconductor intelligent warehousing equipment, i-stock, leveraging its profound technical accumulation and industry insights, has successfully provided efficient and reliable intelligent logistics overall solutions to global semiconductor leaders such as Micron, SK Hynix, ASE, and Chang Electric Technology. It has deeply participated in the automation process of key material flows in complex packaging and testing and advanced wafer manufacturing.
Looking ahead, in light of the clear trend of the industry moving towards 2nm GAA manufacturing, HBM storage, and advanced Chiplet packaging, i-stock has strategically focused on the research and development of the next-generation intelligent warehousing with higher cleanliness, higher precision, and higher flexibility. The company aims to create an intelligent logistics network that can respond to production rhythms in real time, achieve full-process traceability and predictive scheduling through the deep integration of Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and digital twin technologies. This not only helps customers address the material management challenges brought about by the increase in chip complexity, but also strives to become a core partner that empowers semiconductor factories to enhance overall equipment efficiency (OEE) and supply chain resilience, thereby playing a more crucial role in the grand narrative of global semiconductor capacity expansion and technological upgrading.
