The second half is looking solid despite macro concerns

Andrea Lati

• Order activity for semiconductor equipment held steady at a hot 110 degrees in the second week of May
• All segments ended the week flat, except for Memory which slipped to a new low for the year
• Activity in the non-memory segments remains red hot as end-demand continues to outpace supply
• There were no notable changes to the forecasts in May as the data came in line with our expectations
• Semiconductor inventories jumped higher as companies continued to increase their inventory buffer due to ongoing supply chain constraints
• Meanwhile, macroeconomics risks are looming
  • Increasing interest rates along with soaring energy prices will put negative pressure on economic growth in the second half of the year
• TechInsights’ Chip Price Performance Index continued to trend lower
  • DRAM tumbled
  • NAND flat
  • MPUs flat
• Hyperscale Fabless Capex surged 27% YoY in 1Q22