Global semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales are forecast to reach $165.9 billion in 2026, a 23.2% year-on-year increase, according to SEMI's Mid-Year Total Semiconductor Equipment Forecast – OEM Perspective, published 14 July 2026. The industry association projects continued growth momentum through 2028, when total equipment sales are expected to reach a record $229.5 billion, marking five consecutive years of expansion.
SEMI president and CEO Ajit Manocha attributed the upward revision to accelerating AI infrastructure investment: 'AI is accelerating demand for more powerful and efficient chips, driving increased investment across the semiconductor capital equipment market. The mid-year forecast points to a higher equipment spending trajectory as chipmakers invest in the leading-edge logic, advanced memory, test and packaging capabilities required for the AI era.'
The Wafer Fab Equipment (WFE) segment, which encompasses wafer processing, mask and reticle equipment, and fab facilities, recorded $116.9 billion in sales in 2025 and is projected to grow 23.1% to $143.9 billion in 2026. SEMI notes this represents a significant upward revision from its 2025 year-end forecast, driven primarily by stronger investment in advanced memory — particularly high bandwidth memory (HBM)-related DRAM technologies — and leading-edge logic. WFE segment sales are expected to grow a further 21.8% in 2027 and 14.1% in 2028, reaching the $200 billion threshold.
For the electronics manufacturing sector, the relevance of the forecast lies notably in the back-end and packaging segments. SEMI explicitly cites test and packaging as growth areas, reflecting the industry-wide shift toward advanced packaging architectures — including chiplet integration, 2.5D and 3D IC configurations, and HBM stacking — that require increasingly sophisticated assembly, interconnect, and inspection capabilities. These trends have direct implications for equipment suppliers and EMS providers active in semiconductor packaging, as demand for advanced dispensing, bonding, inspection, and handling systems continues to rise alongside wafer-level and panel-level packaging adoption.
The SEMI forecast underlines a structural shift in semiconductor capital spending. Rather than cyclical recovery alone, investment is being driven by architectural complexity: higher compute density requirements for AI workloads demand tighter integration of logic and memory, more precise interconnect technologies, and more rigorous testing regimes. This places sustained pressure on the full equipment supply chain, from front-end lithography through to back-end test, packaging, and advanced assembly processes.
For European equipment suppliers and EMS companies operating in the semiconductor packaging space, the five-year growth trajectory outlined by SEMI signals a prolonged period of elevated demand. Companies supplying dispensing, underfill, encapsulation, AOI, and X-ray inspection systems for advanced packaging applications are positioned within one of the faster-growing segments of the global semiconductor equipment market.
Quelle: SEMICON Europa – https://www.semi.org/en/semi-press-release/global-semiconductor-equipment-sales-forecast-to-reach-a-record-229-billion-dollars-in-2028-semi-reports
