Wafer Demand to Pick Up in 2002, FSA Says
Online staff -- Electronic News, 3/6/2002
e-insite.net
Participants in a recent survey believe that wafer demand, based on the stabilization of inventory levels, will pick up this year, according to the Fabless Semiconductor Association (FSA).
Results of the eighth annual Wafer and Packaging Demand survey were released today by the San Jose-based trade organization in cooperation with PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The survey included 131 fabless companies and 14 integrated device manufacturers (IDMs), the FSA said. Results show these companies expect a short-term 17 percent increase in wafer demand from the fourth quarter of 2001 to the first quarter of 2002. Excluding the companies that said they believed wafer demand will double in 2002 over 2001, the wafer demand increase in the first quarter 2002 is estimated to be only 2 percent over actual fourth quarter 2001 demand. Additionally, these companies are only expecting a 16 percent increase in wafer demand for 2002 over actual demand for 2001, the FSA said.
Results of the survey also suggest continued, compounded growth for 2002 and 2003, the trade association said, with a trend toward a sequential increase in wafer demand per quarter during 2002. Furthermore, all of respondents forecast a 78 percent wafer demand increase in 2002 over 2001. |
