| SIC Codes: | 3559 |
| NAICS Codes: | 333242 |
The US semiconductor equipment manufacturing industry includes about 200 companies with combined annual revenue of about $9 billion. Major companies include Applied Materials, Lam Research Corporation, and Veeco Instruments. The industry is highly concentrated: The top 50 companies account for more than 95 percent of industry revenue.
Demand is driven by semiconductor production, consumer interest in electronic products, and corporate spending on information technology. The profitability of individual companies depends on managing costs while investing in new technologies. Large companies have advantages in offering broad product lines to leading semiconductor manufacturers. Small companies can compete effectively by serving niche manufacturers. The industry is capital-intensive: average annual revenue per employee is about $570,000.
Major products include etching and micro-lithography equipment, thin-layer deposition machinery, wafer processing equipment, semiconductor assembly and processing machinery, and surface mount machinery for the manufacture of printed circuit boards. Many providers additionally offer software and services. Some companies have leveraged their expertise in semiconductor equipment to manufacture similar machinery that is used to manufacture other products such as photovoltaic cells and flat panel displays.