December 15, 2004, Chiba, Japan--The market for semiconductor manufacturing equipment is expected to grow 59% in 2004, to the second largest annual level ever recorded, according to the year-end edition of the SEMI Capital Equipment Consensus Forecast, released in early December at the annual Semicon Japan exposition. According to SEMI, the world's leading manufacturers of semiconductor equipment expect a moderate cyclic decline in the 2005 to $33.49 billion.

Survey respondents expect the industry to sell $35.31 billion of new chip manufacturing, testing and assembly equipment in 2004. In 2005, the industry is expected to contract 5.1%. Industry revenues are expected to increase slightly in 2006 before rising nearly 15% to $39.61 billion in 2007.

"Following a robust growth year in 2004, SEMI members expect a pause in 2005 as semiconductor manufacturers digest the new manufacturing capacity," said Stanley Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "SEMI members see a slight decline in the overall market next year, followed by a moderate recovery in 2006 and a return to double digit market expansion in 2007."

Wed Dec 15 13:53:00 CST 2004