Fabless Semi Association reports uptick in wafer demand
By EBN staff
Electronic Buyers' News
(08/23/99, 04:23:13 PM EDT)
Continued strength in the communications and networking sector has pushed actual and forecasted wafer useage demand higher than previously expected, according to the Fabless Semiconductor Association.
The FSA's Mid-year Update Survey indicated that actual wafer demand was 104% of forecasted demand for the first six months of 1999, up from the expected 100%.
The respondents, which represent 78% of the total wafer demand from the original participants of the annual survey, also made upward revisions to their demand forecasts for the back half of 1999 as well for the entire year. The forecasts for the second half and the year are now 108% and 106% of the original projections, and reflect an increase in wafer requirements from 41% to 50%, the FSA noted.
The need for foundry services appears to be driven by fabless companies enjoying strong markets, rather than outsourced business from integrated device manufacturers, the FSA said.
In addition to growth in particular market niches, such as communications and networking, customer demand for DSPs, graphic chips, certain PLDs and some microcontrollers is also fueling the uptick, according to data from Pathfinder Research Inc., San Jose.
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