Front-end weakness to cause job cuts, says analyst
Peter Clarke
EE Times
(10/20/2005 6:15 AM EDT)
LONDON — The value of the market for front-end semiconductor manufacturing equipment is set to drop sequentially for the next three quarters, and give rise to a new round of layoffs in the sector, according to The Information Network, a market research company.
The front-end market is set to resume growth in mid-2006 but overall 2006 is still set to drop 3.0 percent following a 9.6 percent drop in market value 2005, the company said. On a quarterly basis The Information Network forecasted a 15 percent drop in Q3 year-over-year and another 19 percent drop in Q4. Sequentially, Q3 2005 over Q2 2005 is set to fall back 2 percent while Q4 2005 over Q3 2005 will drop 13 percent, the firm said.
The company did not give absolute values for the market size at these different times.
The front-end equipment market is set to contract before rebounding to reach growth of 23.5 percent in 2007 and and 31.0 percent in 2008, according to the New Tripoli, Pennsylvania-based company.
Of the sub-markets within the front-end sector, lithography is set to fare best, dropping by 1 percent in 2005 and growing 2.9 percent in 2006, the firm said. Automation tools are set to lag the overall front-end market as new fab construction has slowed in 2005, the company added.
“Our forecast for 2005, which we made in August 2004, has not changed at negative 9.5 percent and we took into consideration the excess equipment purchases in 2004, a slowdown in the semiconductor market from the 27 percent to 30 percent range in 2004 to the 5 percent to 7 percent range in 2005, capacity utilization of tools, global economies, and apprehension on the part of semi manufacturers to spend money and precipitate another inventory glut problem,” noted Robert Castellano, president of The Information Network, in a statement.
“We see nothing in the past 12 months has affected our forecasts, that they remain on track and viable, and we reiterate them. As the downturn continues and equipment manufacturers struggle to avoid red ink, we see a new wave of layoffs on the horizon.”
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