CY CEO Says in the CC they cannot take any more order because they have run out of capacity.
TSMC is saying they are running utilization 105% (Any one knows how?)
ATML has fabs and could sell their capacity, and may eventually sell the fabs at a decent price and become fabless. If they do become a fabless, how much cash could ATML receive from the fab sales? Probably billions.
Could that have any impact on the stock price?
*********************
TSMC MAY HIKE CAPEX TO MEET HUGE WAFER DEMAND
By Crista Souza, ESM
Silicon Strategies
04/16/2004, 10:00 AM ET
The following article was contributed by Crista Souza, senior editor of Electronics Supply & Manufacturing, a monthly print magazine published by CMP Media. CMP Media also publishes Silicon Strategies.
SAN JOSE--With its fab capacity effectively sold out for the year, foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. said it may raise its 2004 capital expenditures above the previously stated level of $2 billion.
According to top executives speaking today at the TSMC 2004 Technology Symposium here, TSMC's fabs are operating "in excess of 100 percent" utilization, causing concern among fabless foundry customers that as robust growth returns to the chip market there won't be enough wafers to go around.
While TSMC's stated capital spending plan will increase its available capacity this year by 40 percent to more than 5 million 8in.-equivalent wafers, some customers are not getting all the production output they need to fill orders from their customers, said Kenneth Kin, senior vice president of worldwide sales for TSMC (Hsinchu, Taiwan).
"Our current capacity is somewhat short of customer requirements, but not by that much," Kin said. "We know demand is strong. How strong is not clear. We all know forecasting is not that accurate."
Kin said TSMC reviews and redistributes its wafer allocation on a weekly and daily basis according to actual usage patterns.
Acknowledging that the wafer shortage will probably get worse before it gets better, F.C. Tseng, deputy chief executive, said TSMC is ready to push more money at the problem.
"We are considering increasing our capital expenditure a little to add more capacity," Tseng said, though he did not say by how much. "But even if we do increase it, it will not help for this year."
Tseng said TSMC is being cautious to avoid tipping the balance toward overcapacity. Analysts expect capacity expansions underway by several semiconductor manufacturers will throw the overall market back into an oversupply as early as 2005. |
