$580 Billion Global Semiconductor Sales Expected to Surpass $1 Trillion by 2030

[Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] As the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates digitalization, semiconductor market sales are expected to double from the current level and exceed $1 trillion as early as 2030, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 30th (local time).

Global semiconductor industry sales surpassed $500 billion for the first time last year. According to market research firm Gartner, global semiconductor industry sales increased by 25% compared to 2020, reaching $583.5 billion last year. Gartner expects semiconductor industry sales to grow by about 9% this year, exceeding the historical average sales growth rate.

Tom Caulfield, CEO of GlobalFoundries, said, "It took 50 years for the semiconductor industry to grow into a $500 billion market, but it will take only 8 to 10 years to reach $1 trillion in sales." This means that $1 trillion in sales could be achieved as early as 2030.

In the past, the semiconductor industry experienced cycles of boom and bust. Semiconductor demand companies placed large orders and then stopped ordering for a while until inventory was depleted, causing semiconductor manufacturers to suffer from overproduction.

However, recently, the number of industries utilizing semiconductors?from computers, smartphones, data centers, to automobiles?has increased. As a result, the risk of sudden fluctuations in semiconductor demand, as seen in the past, is decreasing. The growing demand for high-priced semiconductors is also a factor driving expectations for a surge in semiconductor sales. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and supercomputers require large-scale computational power, increasing demand for expensive semiconductors that support these capabilities.

Since COVID-19, supply chain disruptions have caused semiconductor production to fall short of demand. Last week, the U.S. government announced that the inventory of key semiconductors, which had been enough for 40 days, recently dropped to only a 5-day supply. The lead time from semiconductor order to delivery has increased to 25 weeks. Normally, when semiconductor supply and demand are stable, delivery takes 10 to 14 weeks.

With supply shortages and expected significant demand growth, the U.S. government has launched large-scale support for the semiconductor industry. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), the U.S. share of semiconductor industry production has decreased from 37% to 12%.

Intel recently announced plans to build a new semiconductor factory in Ohio. Intel's investment is expected to increase 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 investment amounts of $12 billion and $7 billion respectively. TSMC is also considering new factories in Europe.

Samsung Electronics recently announced it will invest $17 billion in a new factory in Taylor, Texas, USA.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.