X-ray Inspection Systems Market for Electronics & Semiconductors (2022-2029)

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted most industries globally. Some industries either shut down manufacturing operations following the directives issued by local governments or operated at minimal capacities to ensure social distancing and employee safety. The revenues of major companies decreased significantly due to halted operations. X-ray inspection is important for various industries, including electronics & semiconductors, automotive, aerospace, and oil & gas. Hence the X-ray inspection systems market for electronics & semiconductors was moderately impacted due to reduced economic activity and operations. In 2020, the electronics & semiconductors industry suffered considerable losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The semiconductor industry took a significant hit in 2020 due to acute raw material shortages and limitations on production, further impacting the electronics industry due to the decreased supply of semiconductor components. Also, the high demand for semiconductors across several industries coupled with disrupted supply chains and production shortages created a considerable demand-supply gap. The shortages were more severe in 2020, largely due to trade restrictions. Some companies reduced production and chip purchases due to fluctuations in the demand for end-use products. The demand for chips was very high and continues to rise among downstream sectors, including automotive, consumer electronics, aerospace & defense, oil & gas, and industrial robotics. However, the global supply chain for semiconductors has not yet fully recovered; therefore, the shortages are expected to continue in the coming years.

PCB inspection, one of the major applications of X-ray inspection systems for electronics & semiconductors, witnessed a significant decrease in top-line revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Disrupted supply chains and production losses also lowered the requirement for X-ray inspection services in the electronics & semiconductor industries. However, in response to the global semiconductor shortage, the semiconductor industry has optimized fabrication utilization surpassing the normal utilization level (80%). Front-end semiconductor fabrication facilities, or fabs, typically run above 80% capacity utilization, with some fabrication companies reaching even 90–100% capacity utilization. Over the past two years, the industry has steadily increased overall fab utilization and is estimated to further increase utilization during 2022 to meet the growing demand. Higher fab utilization to boost chip production is expected to increase the demand for X-ray inspection systems in semiconductor chip manufacturing during the forecast period.

In 2020, semiconductor sales fluctuated across almost all categories due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The sales of computers and related accessories increased due to the mass adoption of remote working policies. Other markets, such as automotive, witnessed radical highs and lows throughout the year with negative overall annual growth. However, there was a slight increase in sales revenues during the first half of 2021. Innovation in semiconductors is expected to support transformative technologies, including 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous electric vehicles, and the internet of things (IoT) which will, in turn, boost the utilization of X-ray inspection systems. Thus, the growing demand and supply of semiconductors and the penetration of transformative technologies across various end-use markets are expected to further increase the demand for semiconductor testing and inspection during the forecast period, driving the growth of the X-ray inspection systems market for electronics & semiconductors during the forecast period.