There are 15 companies forecast to have semiconductor capital expenditures of more than US$1 billion in 2017, up from 11 in 2016 and only eight in 2013, according to IC Insights.

Infineon and Renesas are expected to move into the major spending ranking in 2017 as each company is aggressively targeting the fast-rising automotive semiconductor market, IC Insights said. Other companies expected to be added to the ranking in 2017 include Nanya and ST.

Moreover, IC Insights believes that a few China-based companies are likely to break into the "major spenders" ranking over the next couple of years as they ramp up their new fabs. The 15 companies listed, which include four pure-play foundries, are forecast to represent 83% of total worldwide semiconductor industry capital spending in 2017, the highest percentage in 10 years.

In 2017, four companies, Intel, Samsung, Globalfoundries and SK Hynix, are expected to represent the bulk of the increase in spending, IC Insights said. Samsung is forecast to spend US$3.2 billion more in capital outlay in 2017 than in 2016, Intel US$2.375 billion more, Globalfoundries US$865 million more, and SK Hynix an additional US$812 million. Combined, these four companies are expected to increase their spending by US$7.252 billion in 2017, or about 90% of the total US$8,021 million net jump in total semiconductor industry capex forecast for the year.

With a 31% increase, the DRAM/SRAM segment is expected to display the largest percentage increase in capex of the major products types listed in 2017, IC Insights said. With DRAM ASPs surging since the third quarter of 2016, DRAM manufacturers are once again stepping up spending for the segment.

Capital spending for flash memory in 2016 (US$14.6 billion) was significantly higher than spending allocated for DRAM (US$8.5 billion). Overall, IC Insights believes that essentially all of the spending for flash memory in 2016 and 2017 was and will be dedicated to 3D NAND flash memory process technology as opposed to planar flash memory. A big jump in NAND flash capital spending in 2017 is expected to come from Samsung as it ramps its 3D NAND production in its giant new fab in Pyeongtaek, South Korea.