On July 24, the "科创板日报" (Kechuangban Daily) reported that due to the global semiconductor expansion boom, equipment procurement orders have surged, leading to a significant extension in lead times. According to Korean media sources, the major equipment delivery cycles for the top five semiconductor equipment suppliers—Applied Materials (AMAT), ASML (ASML), Lam Research, Tokyo Electron, and KLA (KLAC)—have recently extended to 1.5 to 2 times their original durations. The specific lead times vary depending on the process stage of the equipment, but previously, equipment with a normal lead time of 6 months now requires about a year for delivery after placing an order. Beyond these global giants, major domestic equipment suppliers in South Korea are also experiencing longer lead times. For instance, one Korean company supplying front-end and back-end equipment to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) and Micron Technology now sees delivery times extended from 3-4 months to 6-8 months. Another supplier of back-end equipment to Micron has also seen its lead times extend to about 1.5 times the original. Additionally, some equipment delivery cycles have now exceeded one year. An executive from the semiconductor equipment industry noted, "Even for equipment manufacturers that had reserved production capacity in advance, lead times are now extending as production lines are running at full capacity. For those that failed to expand capacity in time, facing a flood of orders, delivery delays are frequent." If equipment fails to arrive on schedule, it will inevitably affect the commencement of new semiconductor factories. Therefore, procurement departments at Samsung (SMSN.UK) and SK Hynix (SKHY) are closely monitoring equipment delivery status and starting to research countermeasures. Industry insiders revealed that due to the continuous lengthening of equipment lead times, these two giants are planning to place purchase orders earlier than planned. In fact, during 2021-2022, the semiconductor equipment delivery cycle also saw significant extensions, but the main cause then was the disruption of supply chains due to the pandemic. This time, the situation is different; the extension is primarily driven by major manufacturers' ongoing large-scale investments in wafer fabs. Industry estimates suggest that as global semiconductor manufacturers continue to expand production, equipment delivery cycles will keep extending in the coming period. This could lead to supply shortages not only for semiconductor manufacturing equipment but also for various facilities and equipment needed for wafer fab construction. It is worth noting that Micron Technology (MU) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) have recently announced increases in their capital expenditure plans. Micron announced it will raise its long-term investment plan for a new U.S. factory from $200 billion to $250 billion to meet the "unprecedented" demand for memory chips driven by AI infrastructure expansion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has raised its full-year capital expenditure to $60-64 billion, with a median increase of 51.6% year-on-year. Of this, 70%-80% will be allocated to advanced process nodes, about 10% to specialty processes, and approximately 10%-20% to advanced packaging, testing, and photomask production. Recently, SEMI released its "Mid-Year Total Semiconductor Equipment Market Forecast Report," predicting that global sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment will hit a record high of $165.9 billion in 2026, up 23.2% year-on-year, with growth momentum expected to continue through 2028, reaching a record $229.5 billion, marking five consecutive years of growth. (Source: Caixin)