July 14, 2003 – Sales of Japanese-made semiconductor manufacturing equipment are expected to rise 8.6% in fiscal 2003 to 931.3 billion yen ($7.9 billion), following a 2.9% drop in 2002, according to the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ).

For the fiscal year 2003, SEAJ expects manufacturers to increase capital spending by over 40%, based on strong demand for flash memory chips, charge-coupled devices, CMOS sensors, and 300mm wafer-based production lines. The boost in spending reflects an uptick in business that saw orders for domestic equipment rise 35% from April to May.

SEAJ predicts overall Japanese chipmaking equipment sales will jump 27% to 1.180 trillion yen ($10 billion) in fiscal 2004, and a 13% rise to 1.34 trillion yen ($11.4 billion) in fiscal 2005.

Domestic sales are forecast to grow 19% to 529.9 billion yen ($4.49 billion) in fiscal 2003, climbing 21% to 636.1 billion yen ($5.41 billion) in fiscal 2004, and 6.2% to 675.4 billion yen ($5.75 billion) in fiscal 2005.