By Kyle Peschler
From the September/October 2024 Issue
Building a foundation for a digital economy, semiconductors have enabled innovations to make a better connected, and more efficient world. Semiconductors, or chips, power essential and wide-reaching tools, including smartphones, vehicles, and medical devices. And these are essential building blocks of the technologies for the future, including artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, and clean energy.
In its recently released “2024 State Of The U.S. Semiconductor Industry” report, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) highlights opportunities for continued growth and innovation. The report also highlights current and upcoming challenges to sustained success.
According to the SIA report, in 2023 industry global sales reached $527 billion and nearly one trillion semiconductors were sold globally. And despite a cyclical market downturn, the demand for semiconductors remains high. Estimates from World Semiconductor Trade Statistics project sales to increase to more than $600 billion in 2024.
Rising demand has prompted new industry investments to increase chip production. SIA pointed to the 2022 U.S. CHIPS and Science Act as significant to the U.S being forecast to more than triple its semiconductor fabrication capacity and secure a larger share of new private investment in manufacturing. This forecast is according to a May 2024 SIA-Boston Consulting Group report, which also forecast the U.S. will grow its share of advanced (less than 10nm) chip manufacturing to 28% of global capacity by 2032.
Amidst the current and anticipated industry growth, SIA acknowledges the challenges, which include the ongoing demand for skilled talent. A 2023 SIA-Oxford Economics study projected a shortfall of 67,000 technicians, computer scientists, and engineers in the semiconductor industry by 2030 and a gap of 1.4 million of these workers throughout the broader U.S. economy.
The report also acknowledges that policy challenges remain, including continued implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act; reinforcing U.S. leadership in semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing; and maintaining open access to overseas markets.
In July, SEMI, the global industry association, released its “Mid-Year Total Semiconductor Equipment Forecast—OEM Perspective,” which found worldwide sales of total semiconductor manufacturing equipment by original equipment manufacturers was forecast to set a new industry record, reaching $109 billion in 2024, growing 3.4% year-on-year. Semiconductor manufacturing equipment growth is expected to continue in 2025, with sales forecast to set a new high of $128 billion in 2025, driven by both the front-end and back-end segments.
Said Ajit Manocha, SEMI president and CEO, “The global semiconductor industry is demonstrating its strong fundamentals and growth potential supporting the diverse range of disruptive applications emerging from the Artificial Intelligence wave.”
Dutchess County, NY: Growing Global Semiconductor Hub
Located between New York City and Albany in the Hudson Valley, Dutchess County is in a prime position to grow its already-dynamic semiconductor industry, which is anchored by IBM, onsemi, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), along with scores of suppliers. Nearly 80 semiconductor facilities are within a 60-minute drive of Dutchess County.
“Dutchess County has all the right ingredients to elevate as a semiconductor investment magnet,” said Sarah Lee, CEO of Think Dutchess Alliance for Business. “We offer a strategic location with available sites at the heart of New York’s semiconductor corridor, a skilled workforce, a business-friendly climate with no corporate income tax for manufacturers and powerful economic incentives through the state.”
Located between New York City and Albany in the Hudson Valley, Dutchess County is in a prime position to grow its already-dynamic semiconductor industry ecosystem into the future.
Thriving Semiconductor Ecosystem. IBM, which has conducted business in Dutchess County for nearly 75 years, is known for developing groundbreaking innovations in the semiconductor and technology industry. During a 2022 visit, President Biden highlighted the company’s plans to invest $20 billion in growing its microchip research and development sector.
Dutchess County is also home to onsemi’s largest chip manufacturing facility in the U.S. After acquiring the East Fishkill 300mm fab in 2019, the company invested more than $1.3 billion in establishing the nation’s sole 12-inch power discrete image sensor fab.
AMD’s recent expansion to Dutchess County also elevates New York as an epicenter for the burgeoning semiconductor industry. The global company is expected to bring 165 new jobs to the Hudson Valley by 2025.
A robust supply chain further enriches Dutchess County’s semiconductor ecosystem. Among companies currently thriving in the area are: Solid State Cooling (precision temperature controls), eMagin (OLED microdisplays), Marco Board House, Mettrix Technology Corporation (circuit boards and other electronic services), Hybrid Electrostatic Industries (hybrid electrostatic chucks and other products) and DocuWare (process digitization and management).
Fostering Semiconductor Investment Attraction. Companies choosing to locate in Dutchess County can also leverage several new state incentive programs. Making chip production a statewide priority in 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the creation of the Governor’s Office of Semiconductor Expansion, Manufacturing, and Integration (GO-SEMI), a visionary $45 million investment. In addition, companies can tap into $10 billion in economic incentives from the state for environmentally friendly “Green CHIPS” semiconductor manufacturing and supply chain projects.
A Dutchess County location allows companies easy access to NY CREATES Albany NanoTech Complex—where more than $20 billion in investments has created the largest and most advanced publicly owned semiconductor R&D facility in North America and the world’s only open access 300mm R&D facility.
A Smart, Skilled Workforce. Home to 1.2 million highly skilled workers in the Hudson Valley and more than 30 colleges and universities in the mid-Hudson Region, the area offers a deep talent pool with more than 1,600 people employed in Dutchess County’s semiconductor industry.
And a $3 million investment in a state-of-the-art Mechatronics Lab at Dutchess Community College underscores the county’s commitment to fostering innovation and workforce development.
Visit www.thinkdutchess.com for more information.
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