The Health and Competitiveness of the U.S. Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment Industry

Abstract

In 1991 the United States International Trade Commission initiated an Industry and Trade Summary series of informational reports on products imported to, and exported from, the United States. As part of this series, analysts from the Office of Industries published a summary of the state of the Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment (SME) industry in June 2006. This report provides updated information on the health and competitiveness of the U.S. semiconductor manufacturing equipment industry. After discussing the structure of, and relationship between, the semiconductor and semiconductor manufacturing equipment industries, this paper provides an overview of the SME industry’s key characteristics, including supply and demand. The U.S. SME industry and market are then described along with trends in exports, imports and the balance of trade between 2014–18. The paper concludes with analysis of five challenges and opportunities that will affect the health and competitiveness of the U.S. SME industry: China’s rise as a producer and consumer of semiconductors, artificial intelligence, the end of Moore’s Law, the introduction of extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment, and foreign investment restrictions and export control reform.

Keywords: Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment, Semiconductors, Global Value Chains, International Trade, Integrated Circuits

JEL Classification: F1, L16, O25,