SEMI reports 14% rise in Q1 semiconductor equipment billings ... - eeNews Europe

SEMI's latest data reveals that global semiconductor equipment billings reached a record US$36.55 billion in Q1 2026, marking a 14% year-over-year increase. This robust growth signals sustained moment... Read original →

The record Q1 equipment billings confirm that sub-3nm nodes have transitioned from pilot runs to volume ramp, sharply boosting demand for EUV lithography, high-aspect-ratio etch, and atomic layer deposition tools. Upstream material suppliers now face stricter purity and particle control specs, while advanced packaging must accelerate to support Chiplet-driven designs downstream. Geopolitical export controls from the U.S., Netherlands, and Japan are forcing foundries in Taiwan, China; South Korea; and mainland China to re-engineer supply chains—adding 15–30% lead time and pushing hidden compliance costs above 12% of capex. In response, ASML is fast-tracking High-NA EUV deployments, while Tokyo Electron and Applied Materials lock in clients via localized service bundling. Over the next 18 months, equipment spending will skew heavily toward AI training chips and automotive MCUs, creating a ‘high-end squeeze, mid-tier overflow’ dynamic—potentially turning the used mature-node equipment market into a new battleground.