The probe card market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5% during the forecast period. Growing investment in fabs, drivers.2, and drivers.3 are some of the significant factors fueling probe card market growth.
Growing investment in fabs
After the 2016 economic crisis, which affected the growth of industrial manufacturing processes in Brazil, major industries such as automotive and electrical and electronics witnessed an upsurge in 2018. The automotive industry witnessed a steep growth in 2018. The demand for semiconductor components in South America is mainly driven by the rise in automobile production in the region. Semiconductor components such as metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors are used in automobiles for multiple applications, including electronic control units, motor drives, and advanced driver-assistance systems. They are used for switching applications as well as power supply management.
The growing automotive industry in Brazil is primarily driving the semiconductor components industry, and subsequently, the probe card market in semiconductor manufacturing in the region. Several major OEMs of passenger cars, trucks, light commercial vehicles, and buses are present in Brazil. Popular OEMs such as Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co. have their production plants in the country. These companies are investing in the automotive industry in Brazil, owing to the government’s financial support. For instance, in November 2018, Brazil’s lower house of Congress introduced the Rota 2030 program, which will run for 15 years. Under this program, companies in the automotive industry will get tax credits for the next five years.
Furthermore, with the on-and-off trade war with Mexico, the automotive and semiconductor manufacturing companies in the US find it more feasible to set up production units in South America. Hence, with the rise in automotive production in the region, the demand for semiconductor components and their testing is expected to increase, which will subsequently create growth opportunities for semiconductor testing components, such as probe cards, in the region.
