Order visibility at GlobalWafers Inc (環球晶圓) extends into 2024 and its capacity for next year is fully booked, the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier said yesterday.
GlobalWafers is trying to squeeze out extra capacity by increasing production efficiency, but the company is still unable to satisfy customer demand for next year, company chairwoman Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭) told reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony to mark the 41st anniversary of the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區).
“We have clear order visibility for 2023 and it should be okay into 2024,” Hsu said. “We do not see any signs of things slowing down in 2023 or 2024.”
Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times
The firm has received more than NT$100 billion (US$3.6 billion) in orders, Hsu said.
To secure a stable wafer supply, many customers are signing longer supply agreements, from five years in 2007 — when its made-to-order strategy was first introduced — to eight years now, GlobalWafers said.
Although segments have their ups and downs, a weak segment, such as smartphones, is soon offset by the upswing of another segment, such as cars or 5G-related applications, Hsu said.
GlobalWafers said that it expects its factories to remain fully utilized through 2024, mainly because capacity expansion worldwide moves at a snail’s pace.
“The major task of our salespeople is to explain to customers why we can only fulfill 90 percent of their demand,” Hsu said. “GlobalWafers is not the only company in the world that is facing a supply challenge.”
Global shipments of silicon wafers are expected to see annual growth of 6.4 percent next year, 4.6 percent in 2023 and 2.9 percent in 2024, GlobalWafers said.
To expand capacity, GlobalWafers said it would over the next two years invest US$800 million on improving production efficiency at its 12-inch fabs, including those in the US.
Hsu declined to comment on wafer prices, but said that GlobalWafers factors spikes in manufacturing costs into its product pricing.
The cost of transportation and raw materials, including chemicals, have been increasing since the emergence of COVID-19, amid port gridlock, a container shortage and temporary shutdowns at factories.
The company expects the EU’s introduction of a carbon border tax in 2026 to add to its manufacturing costs, as importers and manufacturers outside the EU would have to pay for the carbon emissions linked to the goods and materials they sell in the eurozone, Hsu said.
WORLD’S FIRST: The chipmaker is collaborating with Chunghwa Telecom to test the new technology, which is to enter mass production later this year, MediaTek said MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday said it is testing its 5G chips that support millimeter-wave technology at the company’s research-and-development (R&D) center in Hsinchu in collaboration with Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) to accelerate the rollout of the world’s first chips using the technology. MediaTek’s announcement came after the world’s largest 5G handset chip supplier built a strong presence in 5G chips using other technologies, driven by chips that support the 6 gigahertz band or lower. The partnership with Chunghwa Telecom offers favorable conditions for MediaTek to introduce the new 5G chips to the US, Europe and Japan, the companies said in a joint
The Kaohsiung City Government yesterday approved Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) plan to build a new plant in the city, saying a second environmental review was not necessary. The plant is to focus on making 7-nanometer and 28-nanometer chips, in line with rising demand from global customers. The city government discussed for two hours environmental influences that would arise from TSMC’s plant and concluded that the world’s largest contract chipmaker met all requirements, rendering a second assessment unnecessary. TSMC is Apple Inc’s sole chip supplier. Its other major customers include Nvidia Corp, Intel Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Qualcomm Inc and MediaTek
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue rose to a record in the first quarter on demand for chips used in smartphones, computers and vehicles, while a prolonged shortage helped to boost prices. Revenue jumped 36 percent to NT$491.1 billion (US$17 billion) in the first quarter, the company said in a statement yesterday. Analysts estimated NT$469.4 billion on average. Demand for mobile phones, smart televisions and other gadgets from makers such as Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co remains robust even as consumers in major markets in Europe and the US exit COVID-19 pandemic-era lockdowns and work-from-home arrangements. Meanwhile, a chip shortage
Several Taiwanese manufacturers in the Chinese city of Kunshan said that they would remain closed at least until today, as city health authorities have extended a lockdown due to an increase in COVID-19 cases. Many Taiwanese manufacturers of printed circuit boards (PCBs) and other components for consumer electronics, automobiles and other products have subsidiaries in Kunshan, which borders Shanghai, where the number of COVID-19 cases has surged in the past few weeks. Unimicron Technology Corp (欣興電子), one of the leading PCB suppliers in Taiwan, on Wednesday said it was waiting for Kunshan authorities to give a new lockdown order before it could
RSS