Steady Growth in the Global Semiconductor Market Driven by IT Transformation

「In the semiconductor industry, investment in data centers continued to be solid against the backdrop of the growing adoption of generative AI, while demand for AI logic semiconductors and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) drove the overall market. In addition, investment in general-purpose DRAM increased from the second half of the fiscal year, supported by tight supply and recovering prices as demand for AI-related products expanded.」

「半導体市場は、生成AIの進展に加え、ロボタクシー等に代表されるフィジカルAIの普及を背景に、引き続き中長期的な拡大が見込まれます。」

「Meanwhile, demand for generative AI and data centers is driving the market, and investment in high-performance, low-power semiconductor technologies is accelerating, enabling the industry as a whole to maintain solid growth.」

「In the semiconductor industry, investment in high-performance semiconductors, particularly those related to generative AI, remained solid. However, investment in consumer products such as PCs and smartphones and in industrial equipment continued to stagnate due to weak end demand and prolonged inventory adjustments.」

「Meanwhile, in addition to growing demand for semiconductors used in generative AI, expectations are rising for further medium- to long-term market expansion through the wider adoption of PLP (panel-level packaging) and the development of India’s semiconductor industry.」

「In addition to continued aggressive investment in generative AI, further semiconductor market expansion is expected in 2024, as capital investment in consumer products such as PCs and smartphones, particularly memory semiconductors, is also expected to recover.」

「In addition, the spread of generative AI has increased investment in servers, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and continued investment is expected going forward.」

「Although the semiconductor market remains weak, orders bottomed in the previous fourth quarter, and consolidated orders in the current first quarter totaled ¥11,743 million, an increase of ¥3,401 million, or 40.8%, from the previous fourth quarter. In addition, a gradual recovery is expected, supported by anticipated growth in demand for generative AI and other areas.」

「Against this backdrop, demand for PCs and smartphones in the semiconductor industry and the semiconductor manufacturing equipment industry in which we operate remained stagnant due to the slowdown in the Chinese economy and weaker personal consumption, and investment plans, particularly for memory semiconductors, were postponed. However, investment to increase production of automotive and power semiconductors remained firm, and conditions remained resilient.」

「While capital investment showed signs of slowing as demand for PCs, smartphones and other products declined due to weaker personal consumption, capital investment remained solid in increasing production of automotive and power semiconductors for the expanding electric vehicle market.」

「The semiconductor manufacturing equipment industry in which we operate continued to enjoy strong market conditions, supported by investment to expand production capacity to resolve the global semiconductor shortage, active investment in domestic semiconductor production in China, and investment to restructure semiconductor supply chains from an economic security perspective.」

「The semiconductor manufacturing equipment market in which we operate also remained buoyant, as manufacturers actively invested in increasing production to meet strong semiconductor demand and in domestic semiconductor production in China.」

「The semiconductor manufacturing equipment market in which we operate also remained buoyant, as manufacturers actively invested in expanding production capacity to address the global semiconductor shortage and meet expected future demand, as well as in equipment to support domestic semiconductor production in China.」

「The semiconductor manufacturing equipment market is expected to continue growing strongly, driven by expanding semiconductor demand associated with the spread of AI (artificial intelligence) and 5G and the shift toward EVs (electric vehicles), as well as moves by governments worldwide to rebuild semiconductor supply chains in response to concerns over geopolitical risks.」

「In the semiconductor industry, semiconductor supply and demand tightened as demand for IT-related products increased with the expansion of remote work and online classes and the high-speed communications standard 5G entered full-scale use. This coincided with a rapid recovery in demand from the automotive and industrial machinery sectors, resulting in a global semiconductor shortage.」

「The semiconductor market remained strong, supported by continued robust demand for 5G-related products and notebook PCs and servers associated with the spread of teleworking and online classes, as well as increased demand for automotive semiconductors driven by the shift to EVs and further acceleration of semiconductor localization in China.」

「Although the semiconductor industry faces uncertainty over the outlook amid escalating US-China tensions, including tighter US export controls on Chinese companies and China's consideration of countermeasures, semiconductor demand remained firm, supported by increased investment related to 5G and growing server demand prompted by the spread of teleworking and online classes.」

「Although the market remains weak in the near term, medium- to long-term market growth is still expected, driven by the full-scale expansion of investment in next-generation communications standard 5G and the widening use of artificial intelligence (AI).」

「Although uncertainty caused by the US-China trade war remains, equipment utilization among customers, particularly in China and Taiwan, has improved as China accelerates semiconductor localization and demand for applications related to 5G, the next-generation communications standard, increases.」

「Although uncertainty over the outlook for the US-China trade war means that customers' appetite for capital investment remains weak, signs of recovery have begun to emerge in the previously sluggish semiconductor market, supported by strong demand for 5G base stations, signs that memory prices have bottomed out and positive capital investment activity at some companies.」

「Meanwhile, in anticipation of the practical application of the next-generation communications standard 5G, the increase in IoT devices that connect all kinds of things to the internet, and the expansion of AI (artificial intelligence) applications, related companies have continued to show a positive stance toward capital investment. Semiconductor demand is therefore expected to continue expanding over the medium to long term.」

「In the semiconductor industry, the market slumped substantially from the second half onward because of falling memory prices and slowing smartphone demand. Corporate sentiment deteriorated further as the US-China trade war dragged on, and the outlook for recovery remains uncertain.」

「Memory prices continue to fall as the supply-demand balance deteriorates, with no clear indication of a bottom, leaving semiconductor manufacturers unable to commit to capital investment. In addition, the market environment has deteriorated significantly as the slowdown in smartphones, memory and the Chinese market, which had driven the market to date, has been compounded by a sharp decline in capital investment in China due to the impact of the US-China trade war.」

「Memory demand, which had remained at high levels through the previous fiscal year, has reached a plateau, and memory manufacturers' capital investment has stagnated. …In the long term, we believe semiconductor demand is expected to expand.」

「In addition, although semiconductor applications continue to expand as AI and IoT (the Internet of Things) become mainstream and high-capacity, high-speed communications expand ahead of the arrival of the fifth-generation mobile communications era (5G), concerns remain about a slowdown in smartphone demand and a temporary stagnation caused by shortages of materials and components, requiring close attention to future market trends.」

「In the semiconductor industry, major semiconductor manufacturers and OSAT companies are actively investing in new factories and other facilities in response to high semiconductor demand known as the supercycle, intensifying competition to capture demand.」

「The semiconductor market expanded significantly, led by DRAM and NAND flash memory, due to growing demand for 3D memory for data processing accompanying higher smartphone functionality and the spread of IoT, increased server memory capacity to handle the sharp rise in data volumes accompanying the development of cloud services and AI, and the growing number of semiconductor devices installed in vehicles as autonomous driving advances.」

「In addition, semiconductor manufacturers are stepping up collaboration across industries, leveraging their respective strengths and actively pursuing the development of better solutions through initiatives such as technology development aimed at realizing an IoT society in which everything is connected to the internet, and the development of AI (artificial intelligence) technologies using deep learning to improve autonomous driving capabilities.」

「In addition, further growth in semiconductor demand is expected as the expansion of IoT increases the number of devices, the growing volume of data drives further increases in memory demand, and AI becomes widely adopted for autonomous driving and other applications. Semiconductor growth is beginning to move from the short-term historical silicon cycle to the next stage of growth, known as a supercycle, in which demand expands over the medium to long term.」

「In the semiconductor industry, the global semiconductor market continued to grow steadily, driven by the ongoing IT transformation across a broad range of industries.」