Spend on global semiconductor capital equipment down 16% in 2012: Gartner

BANGALORE: Worldwide semiconductor capital equipment spending fell by 16.1 per cent to $ 37.8 billion in 2012, says a report by research firm Gartner.

"Continued oversupply in DRAM (Dynamic random-access memory) and the shift to NAND into oversupply led to a reduced need for capacity," said Klaus-Dieter Rinnen, Managing Vice President at Gartner.

The semiconductor capital equipment industry manufactures and markets machines used in the production of electronic devices.

"Memory manufacturing-related purchases declined significantly. Logic-related spending provided only a weak counterforce, impacted by slowing overall semiconductor device demand in the second half of 2012 and bulging inventories.

"Consequently, manufacturing equipment sales realised a declining quarterly pattern, starting in the second quarter through the end of the year," the report said.