As the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates digitalization, sales in the semiconductor market are expected to double as early as $1 trillion by 2030, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 30th (local time).
Sales of the global semiconductor industry surpassed $50 million for the first time in history last year. According to market research firm Gartner, sales of the global semiconductor industry rose 25% from 2020 to $583.5 billion last year. Gartner predicted that sales in the semiconductor industry will increase by about 9% this year, exceeding the historical average sales growth rate.
In the past, the semiconductor industry showed a repetitive trend of boom and recession. Semiconductor demanders placed large orders and stopped ordering for a while until inventory was exhausted, and semiconductor producers suffered from overproduction.
However, in recent years, the number of semiconductors use, ranging from computers, smartphones, data centers, and automobiles, is increasing. As a result, analysts say that the risk of rapid changes in semiconductor demand is decreasing as in the past. Another reason why demand for high-priced semiconductors is increasing is that semiconductor sales are expected to surge. This is because new emerging artificial intelligence (AI) and supercomputers require large-scale computational processing capabilities and demand for expensive semiconductors that support them is increasing.
As supply is insufficient and demand is expected to increase significantly in the future, the U.S. government has started to support the large-scale semiconductor industry. According to the SIA, the production ratio of the U.S. semiconductor industry has decreased from 37% to 12%.
Intel recently announced plans to build a new semiconductor plant in Ohio. Intel’s investment is expected to increase by up to $100 billion in the future.
TSMC plans to invest $44 billion this year alone. TSMC is building new factories in Arizona and Japan, with investments of $12 billion and $7 billion, respectively. TSMC is also considering new factories in Europe.
Samsung Electronics also recently announced that it will invest $17 billion in a new plant in Taylor, Texas, USA.
