Global contract chipmakers are expected to trim capital spending by 14 percent next year as demand is expected to lag behind rapid expansion in capacity after GlobalFoundries Inc and Samsung Electronics Co entered the industry, market researcher Gartner Inc said yesterday.
Rapid capacity buildup also spells trouble for global contract chipmakers who will be unable to run their factories at full capacity over next three years, Gartner analyst Samuel Wang (王端) told a media briefing in Taipei yesterday.
This year, factory usage is expected to fall to about 80 percent because of aggressive capacity expansion amid growing competition, weak demand and excessive inventory, he said.
Next year, contract chipmakers expect to cut spending on new equipment by 14 percent from US$17.9 billion this year after a 30 percent increase from last year, Wang said.
However, investment would boost TSMC’s 300mm capacity by 30 percent this year, Wang said. TSMC is the world’s biggest contract chipmaker.
Next year, contract chipmakers are expected to see revenues increase 6.1 percent to US$31.26 billion, from an estimated US$29.45 billion this year, outpacing the 4.6 percent annual growth in the semiconductor industry as a whole, Gartner said.
Chips made using 28-nanometer (nm) technology are expected to make up less than 4 percent of overall revenues for contract chipmakers next year, Gartner forecast.
Heavily invested in advanced technologies, TSMC would take the lead in mass produced chips using 28nm technology in the first quarter of next year, Wang said, meaning that TSMC would be one year ahead of its competitors in offering chips on 28nm technology.
UMC, the world’s No. 2 contract chipmaker, yesterday said it plans to start producing a small number of chips on 28nm technology in the middle of next year.
Separately, UMC yesterday said it had inked a long-term agreement with British company ARM Holdings PLC, which designs the processors used in Apple Inc’s iPhone and iPad tablet, to give UMC clients access to the latest ARM IP solutions validated on UMC’s 28nm technology.
The latest 28nm process technology targets a wide range of applications, including mobile and wireles portable devices, and high performance applications such as digital home and high-speed networking, UMC said in a statement issued yesterday.
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