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This is despite Intel’s forecast that 2017 sales will be flat with 2016.
Intel’s 2017 capex is forecast to be $12 billion which is a $2.4 billion increase from last year.
Intel’s memory capex is expected to grow from $1.6 billion to $2.5 billion as 3D NAND production ramps.
Last year Intel’s total memory sales were $2.5 billion flat with 2015 memory sales.
TSMC is currently forecasting 2017 capex of $10.4 billion – the same as last year.
Samsung has not yet announced its 2017 semiconductor capex but last year it was $11.2 billion.
Overall semiconductor capex is expected to grow only 2.9% in 2017, to $69.9 billion, says Gartner.
Looking at the graph suggests that this will not be enough to catch up with the drop in 2015. IN fact the average of 2015 – 2017 will still be less than each and every year 2011 – 2014.