Positive Mood Returns at SEMICON Japan

Stanley T. Myers, President Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) -- Semiconductor International, 2/1/1999

The global semiconductor equipment and materials industry is returning to a mood of optimism, showing signs that business is improving. This was particularly true at the SEMICON Japan exposition in Tokyo in December. While attendance was down from 1997, the number of visitors was over 110,000, and exhibitors reported that most executive-level attendees were upbeat.

The same optimism was reflected at the SEMInvest conference held in Tokyo in conjunction with the exposition. This event was a resounding success, with over 100 fund managers and institutional investors attending. Financial analysts and industry executives participating agreed that the signs are right for global recovery of the industry this year. They said the new upturn would be characterized by a return to a balance in supply and demand for semiconductors, driven by an increased proliferation of non-PC applications.

Linda Strunk, senior capital equipment analyst for Warburg Dillon Read, said her firm is predicting that growth of this industry will be even faster than the semiconductor industry, with a compound annual growth rate of 20% to 25%. 'The high rate of growth is a function of the increasing amount of value semiconductor equipment manufacturers are providing for semiconductor makers,' she said.

Noriko Oki, vice president of Morgan Stanley Japan Ltd., said her company sees good prospects for the future, with 5% to 10% capital spending growth in 1999. She added that the outlook for technology-driven equipment buys is much better than capacity-driven buys. Industry growth will be propelled by new applications of semiconductors, according to Akira Minamikawa, senior analyst for component semiconductor research at IDC Japan. He said that in the coming recovery the personal computer will begin to lose its place as the primary driver of semiconductor usage, with applications such as automobiles, smart cards, communications and digital consumer products consuming larger quantities of circuits.

  SEMI Membership Tops 2300

SEMI's corporate membership growth curve has been rising dramatically over the last few years. At the end of 1996, there were 1883 corporate members, a figure that grew to slightly more than 2000 at the end of 1997. During 1998, membership continued to go up at a healthy rate, with SEMI closing the year with 2320 companies on the corporate membership rolls.

But corporate memberships tell only part of the SEMI story. Another 365 companies are business affiliate members of SEMI, and an additional 350 people hold individual memberships.

The international make-up of SEMI's membership reflects the globalization of the semiconductor industry itself. Nearly three-fifths of SEMI member companies are based in North America, with a little more than one-fifth in Japan, 10% in Europe, 5% in Korea and the balance in Taiwan, Singapore and the rest of the world.

This growth is reflected in the new 1999 SEMI Membership Directory, which is available for the first time on CD-ROM (Adobe Acrobat pdf). The CD-ROM is a fully interactive and searchable resource that offers advantages not available in the printed version, including additional subsidiary office listings. 1999 is the last year that SEMI will produce a printed version of the directory. For information on ordering, e-mail SEMI at semimarketing@semi.org or call SEMI Customer Service at 650-940-6904.