IC Insights has forecast that semiconductor industry capital spending will increase by only 3% in 2016 after declining by 2% in 2015. However, driven by the top three spenders, Samsung, TSMC and Intel, capital spending in 2016 is expected to be heavily skewed toward the second half of the year.

The combined 2016 outlays for the top three semiconductor industry spenders are forecast to be 90% higher in the second half of the year as compared to the first half, IC Insights indicated.

Samsung, TSMC and Intel are forecast to represent a combined 45% of the total semiconductor industry outlays in 2016, according to IC Insights.

Samsung spent only about US$3.4 billion in capital expenditures in the first half of 2016, just 31% of its forecast US$11.0 billion full-year 2016 budget, IC Insights said.

TSMC's outlays in the first half of 2016 were only US$3.4 billion, leaving US$6.6 billion to be spent in the second half of the year in order to reach its full-year US$10.0 billion budget. This would represent a 2H16/1H16 spending increase of 92%, IC Insights noted.

Intel spent just US$3.6 billion in the first half of 2016. The company needs to spend US$5.9 billion in the second half of the year to reach its current US$9.5 billion spending budget, which would be a 2H16/1H16 increase of 61%, IC Insights indicated.

In contrast, capital outlays by the rest of the semiconductor suppliers are forecast to shrink by 16% in the second half of 2016 as compared to the first half, IC Insights said. In total, second-half 2016 semiconductor industry capital spending is expected to be up 20% over first-half outlays, setting up a busy period for the semiconductor equipment suppliers through the end of 2016.