SAN JOSE, CA–The semiconductor industry is indeed a lean and mean machine, and news of healthy business is indicative of that.

For instance, in August, Daw Technologies Inc. (Salt Lake City) landed $750,000 in semiconductor cleanroom contracts on top of millions of dollars in business it has already done this year. In the same month, On Semiconductor (Phoenix) announced that it would triple its 2001 research and development budget to $111 million over the 1999 budget of $37 million.

Daw and On’s boons are signs of the times. In fact, a report from the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) indicates that there was a 112 percent year-over-year increase in worldwide shipments of semiconductor capital equipment in the first half of 2000.

The Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Statistics Report, now available from SEMI, was compiled from data submitted by SEMI members and the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ). It includes data for the six major semiconductor producing regions and 21 product categories, showing worldwide shipments totaling $21.9 billion in the first six months of 2000. That’s $11.6 million more than the $10.3 billion in sales posted in first half of 1999.

Stanley T. Myers, SEMI’s president and chief executive, says the organization believes Y2K is shaping up to be a record growth year. “Semiconductor equipment sales are booming as global chip makers expand manufacturing capacity and migrate to equipment for 300 mm wafer fabrication,” he says. “In just the first half of this year, equipment sales have surpassed the entire 1998 annual market.”

Among the highest growth segments in the six-month period are:

SEMI’s Worldwide SEMS Report is published monthly and is available as part of SEMI’s Executive Market Data Service. For more information about SEMI’s Market Statistics program and subscription services, call SEMI at 408-943-6973 or e-mail [email protected]. ?Mark A. DeSorbo