Post a Comment
Wafer Fab Capacity to Soar in 2007
Staff Reporter -- Electronic News, 7/31/2006
The wafer fab industry's monthly capacity is set to soar up 17 percent to a new high next year, according to the latest report from industry analysis firm Strategic Marketing Associates (SMA).
Collectively, all of the 35 new fabs coming online in 2007 will have the capacity to produce up to the equivalent of 2 million 200mm wafers. IDM manufacturers bringing new fabs online include FlashPartners, Samsung, Hynix, IM Flash, Powerchip, ProMOS and Nanya. However, the expected 17 percent increase in monthly capacity brings with it both growth opportunities, as well as the risk of overcapacity, especially in the memory arena, SMA warned.
The firm noted that FlashPartners, the Toshiba-SanDisk joint venture, may be primed to eclipse fab capacity leader Samsung in flash memory, with ambitious plans to bring three 300mm fabs online as soon as the end of 2008.
The serious progress in the industry is accompanied by serious cash: SMA expects the fully equipped value of the 35 new fabs to reach $56 billion over the next two to three years. Up to 60 percent of the newly added capacity is expected to be allocated for memory, specifically DRAM and non-volatile flash, which the firm said has become the "ubiquitous memory of choice" for consumer electronics.
Good times seem to be ahead all around the industry. Chip foundries are also setting a new record in fab construction, with Taiwan-based TSMC, as well as China-based SMIC and Hua Hong Electronics, all planning to bring new 300mm capacity online next year.
The firm projected equipment sales to near an all-time high, benefiting suppliers like Applied Materials, KLA-Tencor and Lam Research. Total capital spending by chip companies is set to grow by 14 percent this year to $47.3 billion, and by 10 percent next year to $59 billion, just shy of the industry's all-time high of $61.5 billion set in 2000.
"I've been tracking wafer fab metrics for more than 20 years and I've never seen a year like this one," George Burns, SMA president, said in a statement. "There is some risk of overcapacity in 2007, primarily due to the large amount of memory capacity coming online. When news is this good, you need to worry."
