Despite the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy, the semiconductor market performed better than expected in 2020, fueled by the growth in cloud computing and demand for devices to support remote work and learning. Worldwide semiconductor revenue grew to $442 billion in 2020, an increase of 5.4% compared to 2019, according to the (SAF) from International Data Corporation (). The DRAM and NAND markets also recovered after a poor 2019, growing 4% and 32.9%, respectively. IDC forecasts the semiconductor market will reach $476 billion in 2021, a 7.7% year-over-year growth rate as the various COVID-19 vaccines are disseminated and economies begin to open and gradually recover.
The emergence of COVID-19 and subsequent measures taken to manage infection rates, including stay-at-home mandates, remote work, remote education, travel restrictions, and manufacturing shutdowns, created significant business volatility that impacted industries unevenly. “The nature of the recovery will depend upon how quickly government stimulus plans stabilize the global macroeconomy and consumer confidence improves as vaccinations roll out around the world,” said Mario Morales, program vice president, Enabling Technologies and Semiconductors at IDC. “There are specific markets that remain on an upward trajectory and are essential to the recovery this year, including 5G, cloud, intelligent edge, and the dedicated foundry industry. The first half of the year will also see some inventory digestion in the enterprise, cloud, and telco equipment market, but we do not expect it to derail the growth for the year. Semiconductor technology remains critical across every industry on our journey to a sustainable recovery.”