Shipments from global semiconductor equipment suppliers are expected to decline slightly next year, after hitting a record US$44.33 billion this year, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), the organizer of an annual semiconductor trade show in Taipei, said yesterday.
The three-day show — SEMICON Taiwan 2011 — opens today at the Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall 1, with a total of 570 global semiconductor firms exhibiting their latest products and technologies at 1,200 booths, the event’s organizer said at a pre-show press conference.
Last year, 558 companies from around the world participated in the trade fair, while 69,324 industry professionals and buyers visited the exposition, Terry Tsao (曹世綸), SEMI president in Taiwan and Southeast Asia, told a media briefing.
“We expect that more than 75,000 visitors will attend this year’s show, given that the sector’s capital expenditure remains strong,” Tsao said.
Global semiconductor equipment makers shipped US$24 billion in products in the first half of the year, while SEMI forecast the full-year shipment to stand at US$44.33 billion this year, up 12 percent from a year earlier.
But for next year, shipments may remain flat or fall slightly from this year’s figures, totaling US$43 billion to US$44 billion, the institution said in a report.
On the materials front, the institution expects the global semiconductor sector to purchase US$45.9 billion in materials this year and US$47.63 billion next year.
However, Mike Liang (梁明成), vice president at King Yuan Electronics Co Ltd (京元電子), said he has not seen any seasonal demand in the third quarter thus far — this while the July-to-September period used to be the “hot season” for this segment.
“We expect sentiment to bottom out in the first quarter next year, but it will keep rebounding the rest of the year,” Liang said.
Tong Ho-ming (唐和明), president of Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Group (ASE, 日月光半導體), the world’s largest chip packager, said the global semiconductor sector’s sales may maintain single-digit growth in the next few years.
In addition, Tong expects the sector’s research and development of 3D IC technology — one of the biggest highlights at this year’s trade show — to keep expanding this year as more players enter the market.
“Currently, we focus more on the standardization of 3D IC technology, as technology standardization would further accelerate the pace of its volume production,” Tong said.
There is a chance that major standardization of 3D IC technology may be finalized by the end of the year, Tong said, adding that this could help it entering into volume production in 2013, or even next year, at the soonest.
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