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What percentage of the combined revenue of the top five semiconductor manufacturing equipment producers will come from China in 2021?

Multiple choice Opened 4 December 2020 Closed 20 April 2021 Resolved 25 May 2022 84 forecasts 63 forecasters

Related questions. This question is part of a cluster that includes U.S. exports of semiconductor chips to China, U.S. exports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China, Chinese imports of semiconductor chips, and Chinese imports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

Context. The semiconductor manufacturing process has many components manufactured through complicated, highly globalized supply chains. China's ability to produce advanced semiconductor chips is particularly dependent on U.S., Japanese, and Dutch imports of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME) -- i.e., the tools used by chip factories to make chips. The top five SME companies globally are:

  • United States: Applied Materials; Lam Research; KLA
  • Japan: Tokyo Electron
  • Netherlands: ASML

Although China is building up its chip manufacturing capacity using imported SME, it is still reliant on imports for most of the semiconductor chips it consumes. China is especially reliant on the United States, Taiwan, and South Korea for imports of the most advanced semiconductor chips. Therefore, export controls on chips could reduce China's access to them. If China cannot import SME, it will remain dependent on imports for chips. This question focuses on SME. The United States is considering a number of actions that would reduce the export of SME to China. In September, the Trump Administration restricted exports to China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC). 

Data and resolution details. This question resolves based on the companies' quarterly and annual public filings through the quarter ending December 31, 2021. At that date, we expect to have data for all five companies through all of 2021 with the exception that we'll have data for KLA only through June 30, 2021.

As of December 3, 2020, the figure for 2020 in the graph below includes the following: Lam Research through September 30, 2020; Applied Materials through September 30, 2020; KLA through June 30, 2020; and Tokyo Electron through September 30, 2020. We will supplement the graph with additional 2020 data as it becomes available. In particular, ASML data for all of 2020 will be added after ASML submits its annual financial report covering the period through December 31, 2020.

The data underlying the graph is here.

This question is a metric for a forthcoming scenario on the future of the semiconductor industry.

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Outcome

Answer Final crowd forecast Resolution
Less than 20% 4% Did not happen
Between 20% and 25%, inclusive 14% Did not happen
More than 25% but less than or equal to 30% 44% Happened
More than 30% but less than or equal to 35% 29% Did not happen
More than 35% 8% Did not happen

“Final crowd forecast” is the last aggregate crowd probability computed before the question closed – the right-hand end of the chart below, which this table is the accessible equivalent of.

Crowd forecast over time

0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Jan 2021 Mar 2021 Apr 2021 44% 29% 14% 8% 4%
More than 25% but less than or equal to 30% More than 30% but less than or equal to 35% Between 20% and 25%, inclusive More than 35% Less than 20%
The aggregate crowd probability, one point per day, from RFI's primary aggregation method. Gaps are days with no computed aggregate. Individual forecasts are not shown.