Taipei, March 10, 2010 (CENS)--In its latest edition of World Fab Forecast, Semiconductor Equipment & Materials International (SEMI) projected global fab spending will rise at an annual rate of 88% this year, to over US$30 billion, an increase from its persistently predicated rates of more than 60% since June 2009.
The spending by Taiwan`s chipmakers is estimated to totally rise 100%, making the island the biggest market for fab tools this year.
SEMI`s latest survey shows that fab tool spending dropped 45% year-over-year, to US$14.4 billion in 2009, worldwide. Fab construction expenditure in the same year contracted at annual rate of 46.4%, to US$16.4 billion.
SEMI based its latest increase in the growth prediction mainly on announced increases in capital spending plans by foundries and memory-chip companies over the past couple of months in response to economic upturn trend.
The survey indicates that, battered by the financial crisis, the global chip-making industry cut capital expenditures and restructured fab operations throughout 2009, thereby closing down 27 fabs including 11 200mm fabs and one 300mm fab. Global shipments of silicon wafers, accordingly, dropped to 154 million 200mm equivalents a month.
SEMI forecast in its latest survey that the shipments will likely rise 5-6% this year, to 161 million wafers a month. However, it estimated 21 fabs to wind down this year and about four facilities to phase out the following year.
The survey shows that fab spending planned by memory chipmakers will be mainly aimed at upgrading technologies and expanding capacity. Foundries will spend their capital on capacity expansions that were suspended last year.
This year in Taiwan, expansions are planned by not only foundries but also memory chipmakers like Nanya Technology. Nanya will boost output to 50,000 300mm wafers a month from 30,000 wafers at a cost of NT$20-25 billion (US$625-781 million).
Totally, Taiwan`s chipmakers are estimated to spend US$7.4 billion on expansion plans this year, more than double the corresponding figure of last year.
Forecast of Global Fab Spending
| Spending on front end facilities | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| Construction projects (in US$ Billion) | 1.9 | 3.67 | 4.6 |
| Change (%) | -54.9 | 85.2 | 25.1 |
| Fab equipment spending (in US$ Billion) | 14 | 27 | 37 |
| Change (%) | -45 | 88.6 | 38.5 |
| Total front-end fab spending (in US$ Billion) | 16.4 | 30.9 | 42.3 |
| Change (%) | -46.4 | 88.2 | 36.9 |
Source: SEMI
(by Ken Liu)
