Wafer equipment spending up to 23% in 2011

According to a report from SEMI's global integrated circuit manufacturing plant, capital expenditures in 2011 will increase to 41.1 billion U.S. dollars, reaching the highest level in history. As some companies adjust their plans based on broader economic conditions, this new forecast will reduce the growth percentage to 23% (expected increase of 31% in May 2011).

ChristianGregorDieseldorff, Senior Analyst of the SEMI Industry Research and Statistics Group, said: “The changes in the global economy have affected the semiconductor industry. The economic trend in recent months has reduced consumer confidence and consumption, and this slowdown has also affected semiconductors. industry".

In 2011, according to SEMI's statistics, the number of wafer fabs for equipment was 223. Of these, 77 are LED fabs. Next year, 190 fabs will start or continue with equipment, including 72 LED projects.

The highest spending areas in 2011 were concentrated in the Americas, totaling about 10 billion U.S. dollars, followed by Taiwan, which is about 9 billion U.S. dollars. The last time the Americas led the expenditure was in 2002. Although Intel’s spending was the most significant, another key factor that contributed to the high expenditures in the Americas was Samsung Electronics, which spent about $2.5 billion to $3 billion at the Austin fab, under the project name “S2-line”. In 2012, it is expected that spending in South Korea will exceed that in the Americas, wafer equipment expenses will be approximately US$10 billion, and the Taiwan region will still be followed by approximately US$9.2 billion.

In the past few months, some companies announced that their capital expenditures in 2011 have been reduced, but most companies’ capital expenditure plans remain unchanged. Although the market's cautious attitude has become more apparent, some companies have even slightly increased their spending. SEMI data closely tracks plant construction activities, especially the status of new plants. Since the report of the global integrated circuit manufacturing plant that was released in May 2011, the expenses for setting up fabs for the fab in 2011 (including discrete devices and LED special equipment) have increased from US$4.8 billion to US$5.6 billion. In May 2011, a total of 61 construction projects were completed and 72 projects are currently underway.

SEMI's global IC manufacturing plant report adopts a bottom-up forecasting method, provides high-level summary and charts, and conducts in-depth analysis of the fab's capital expenditure, production capacity, technology, and products. In addition, the database also provides quarterly forecasts for the next 18 months. These forecasting tools are invaluable for understanding semiconductor manufacturing in 2011, 2012, and 2013, as well as the capital expenditure, wafer equipment, technology, and product status of the construction projects.