Tough and Unpredictable Times Ahead
March and April world data clearly showed the impact of the global manufacturing slowdown driven by COVID-19. The world purchasing manager’s index plunged from 47.3 in March to 39.8 in April (Chart 1). Values below 50 indicate a manufacturing...
Gradual Rebound or Slight Dip – Two Scenarios for COVID-19 Impact to 2020 Global Silicon Wafer Market Sales
Uncertainty has gripped the silicon wafer market as the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to upend growth projections for 2020. Declines in both shipments and revenue plagued the silicon wafer market in 2019, a downturn that had given way to optimism for...
Top 10 Critical Subsystems Suppliers of 2019: EUV Shines Light on Optical Subsystems Suppliers
VLSI research recently released the list of top suppliers of critical subsystems to the semiconductor and related manufacturing industries in 2019. The data shows EUV adoption greatly benefited optical subsystems suppliers in 2019 as other critical...
Are You Part of a Healthy, Competitive Supply Chain?
Critical subsystems technologies for semiconductor applications are highly engineered and specialised pieces of equipment. By their nature, only a select group of companies are able to produce these products to the high specifications demanded by...
Chillers… A Surprisingly Hot Market
The market for chillers and heat exchangers used in semiconductor manufacturing equipment has more than doubled since 2014 and is expected to reach a total value of $383 million in 2019. The 18 percent compound annual growth rate of this segment...
Watching (Impatiently) for the Upturn
Business Conditions
Manufacturing growth remains slow globally (Chart 1) although conditions vary by country and region (Chart 2).
Critical Subsystems in the Sub Fab
The value of critical subsystems sold for use in the sub fab is outgrowing the overall market for critical subsystems. Driven by the increased complexity of leading edge fabs and the growing vacuum intensity of semiconductor manufacturing, both the...
Record Revenues for Critical Subsystems Suppliers in 2018 Despite Collapse in Orders
Critical subsystems for the IC equipment market continued to grow to a new record of $11 billion in 2018. While 2019 is expected to be a downturn year, the long-term outlook remains unchanged with an average growth rate of 3 percent.
China Wafer Production Capacity Growth Fastest in World
Region’s Fab Capacity Expansion Picks up Pace
Unwavering in its drive to build a strong, self-sufficient semiconductor supply chain, China plans more new fab projects than any other region in the world from 2017 to 2020, and its expansion of fab...
Part 2 of 2: The End of the Memory Growth Rally? Where Are We in the Memory Inventory Cycle?
Part 1 of this article discussed the Memory Inventory Cycle Index and compared it with memory device sales and memory fab equipment investments. This article, the second of the two-part series, illustrates how the Memory Inventory Cycle Index starts...