SEMI's latest 300mm Fab Outlook projects global 300mm front-end fab equipment spending of $149 billion in 2026, up 31% year-over-year, rising to $227 billion in 2029. Investment is expected to grow at double-digit rates through 2029.
The investment outlook accompanies a pipeline of new 300mm fabs and production lines moving through construction and into operation. Excluding pure R&D fabs, SEMI projects 20 new 300mm fabs or lines will begin construction worldwide in 2026 and 18 in 2027. In the United States, three are projected to begin construction in 2026 and four in 2027.
Global construction spending across all 300mm facilities is projected to rise 23% to $47.5 billion in 2026 and another 33% to $63.3 billion in 2027, before reaching $68.4 billion in 2028. SEMI said the activity reflects continued investment in new manufacturing capacity across leading-edge logic, memory and other 300mm semiconductor technologies.
Equipment investment in the Americas is projected to more than double from $18.1 billion in 2026 to $40.6 billion in 2029. SEMI projects 13 new 300mm fabs or lines worldwide will begin operations or ship first silicon in 2026, increasing to 23 in 2027.
Ajit Manocha, SEMI President and CEO, said: “Semiconductor demand is increasingly translating into physical manufacturing expansion across the global industry. The latest outlook points to both stronger equipment investment and a substantial pipeline of fabs moving toward operation. This expansion will provide the manufacturing foundation needed to support AI, high-performance computing and a broad range of next-generation semiconductor applications.”
The 3Q26 edition of the SEMI 300mm Fab Outlook reflects 166 changes across 163 fabs and lines, including 14 newly added records, since the previous report.
