In a webinar hosted by Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) last week, participants emphasized the importance of the industry and expressed great expectations for its growth in the coming years. C.J. Muse, Senior Managing Director and Head of Global Semiconductor Research at Evercore ISI, said that while 2020 was a turbulent year for the industry, it was also “the year that there was recognition of the secular importance of semiconductors driving the digitalization across nearly every industry vertical.”
His fellow participant, Dale Ford, Chief Analyst at the Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA) also expressed optimism for the market, suggesting that if trend rates continue, the semiconductor industry will generate $750 billion in revenues by 2030 and could reach $1 trillion by 2036.
Further, all participants agreed that key driving factors in semiconductor growth over the next year include increased reliance on the cloud, IoT and 5G, as well as increased production of medical equipment and telecom infrastructure.
The webinar discussion made it clear that there is much at stake within the semiconductor industry. It is therefore critical that policy makers and industry players act to protect US production, innovation and supply chains. In a recent pieced published in Inside U.S. Trade, China Tech Threat co-founder, Dr. Roslyn Layton, expressed concern that if China is successful in advancing their domestic manufacturing of low-end chips, it could flood the global market and depress the price for some higher-quality semiconductors, potentially hurting the US growth we expect going into this year and next.
Read more about what can, and should, be done here.