Yole releases 2021 MEMS market ranking and report analysis

Yole recently released the 2021 MEMS market report and gave specific manufacturer rankings. The following is a summary of the report.

MEMS sensors and actuators have become part of everyday life and are found in a wide variety of systems.

The MEMS industry is expected to surpass the $22 billion mark in five years, growing at approximately 9% per year between 2021 and 2027.

Among them, Bosch continued to be the MEMS leader with its excellent business and growth. Similarly, STMicroelectronics and TDK also saw significant sales growth in 2021.

Broadcom, Qorvo and Skyworks RF MEMS filters are also growing rapidly.

2021 is an extraordinary year for MEMS companies. First, revenues are growing from continued value-added in consumer and automotive applications, and medical and industrial end markets and related applications are also progressing. Second, due to chip shortages and global stocking issues, the ASP of some MEMS devices such as inertial and pressure MEMS has increased slightly in 2021, creating additional revenue growth for the market.

Against this highly dynamic backdrop, Yole Intelligence, part of the Yole Group, today announced the release of its best-selling annual MEMS report. This new edition details the latest updates on MEMS sales, ASPs and revenues for 2021. It outlines the best growth opportunities and key market drivers for MEMS over the next 5 years. This new edition also details the evolution of the ecosystem from the perspective of products and funding, as well as the key stakeholders involved. A detailed analysis of MEMS market shares as well as an analysis of the foundry business are included, providing a comprehensive view of the MEMS ecosystem.

Dimitrios Damianos, senior technology and market analyst at Yole Intelligence, said that globally, MEMS manufacturers' revenue increased by 17% year-on-year, from US$11.5B in 2020 to approximately US$13.6B in 2021.

Currently, the top 10 established companies that dominate the MEMS market have not changed much in the past few years: Bosch, Broadcom, STMicroelectronics, Qorvo, TDK, Goertek, Texas Instruments, HP, Infineon, Knowles Electronics, etc. But let us not forget the long tail of other small specialized MEMS players that are also expected to grow due to emerging MEMS devices and applications: SiTime, USound, xMEMS, OQmented, Sensirion, etc.

Of the total revenue, $570 million in 2020 and $690 million in 2021 will come from manufacturing for fabless companies and those that cannot do 100% of their manufacturing in-house. Until a few years ago, the top MEMS foundries had very little revenue (typically less than $60 million). Now, as new companies are emerging with interest in outsourcing MEMS manufacturing, MEMS foundries are reaping the fruits, with strong revenue growth. Silex, Teledyne MEMS, and TSMC belong to this space.

With the unprecedented demand for MEMS sensors, MEMS manufacturers are currently investing in new production plants: Bosch, SilTerra, Silan Microelectronics, FormFactor, etc. However, with the shortage of chips, increasing production capacity is the current trend in the semiconductor field, and the equipment market is expensive and the delivery time exceeds 15 months. Acquiring MEMS business from other companies may be an option. Yole Intelligence analysts cite several important examples: Silex acquired Elmos' 200mm wafer production line, Mitsumi acquired Omron's MEMS business, and at the same time, Bosch announced the construction of a 300mm MEMS production line to be opened in 2026 to consolidate its leading position.

But what should we expect in 2022 and beyond? Well, currently, the market is driven by three forces:

Due to strong demand for MEMS, some MEMS foundries have schedules until the end of 2023.

The average selling prices of certain MEMS devices have increased as a result of higher operating costs and lower profit margins due to the current microeconomic and macroeconomic conditions.

And future inventory overhang caused by integrators hoarding chips (including MEMS) could lead to low MEMS player activity in 2023 and beyond.

So the message to players in the evolving MEMS industry is: tread carefully.