2023  sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment fell  1.3% to $106.3 billion from 2022’s   record $107.6 billion, says SEMI.

China was the biggest market, growing 29% y-o-y to $36.6 billion, followed by Korea which fell 7% to $19.9 billion and Taiwan which fell 27% to $19.6 billion.

The US market rose 15%, the EU fell 3%, Japan fell 5% and RoW fell 39%.

“Despite a slight dip in global equipment sales, the semiconductor industry continues to show strength, with strategic investments fueling growths in key regions,” says SEMI CEO Ajit Manocha, “the  overall results for the year were better than anticipated by most industry followers.”

Wafer processing equipment sales rose 1%, other front-end segment billings increased by 10%, assembly and packaging equipment  fell 30% and test equipment fell 17%.