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Section 4. Capital Spending and Capacity Trends

Capital spending and fab capacity levels are an important indicator of health in the semiconductor industry. As in many business situations, overspending leads to overcapacity, which leads to an imbalance in supply and demand. Therefore, it is useful to track spending (or production) and capacity trends in the industry.

Worldwide Capital Spending. In addition to a review and forecast of worldwide spending, rankings of the world's biggest spenders are provided. Spending levels within each of the world's geographic regions are compared to show which areas are most aggressive in advancing production capabilities and adding capacity. Spending by IC product type is also covered.

Capital Spending Cycles. While the pronounced cycles of the semiconductor market are well documented, this section shows that capital spending trends are even more volatile. Also shown is how closely changes in capital spending and IC average selling price have tracked over the past two decades.

Worldwide IC Capacity and Production. Capacity and production statistics include die-per-wafer trends, wafer start trends, capacity utilization rates, and revenue-per-wafer trends.