I do not agree with your point at all, and I am not a holder of AMAT !!
The current situation in the chip industry is every semiconductor manufacturers in ASIA expect a big boom in DRAM in 1994, 95 and they had over built the capacity of 8" fab, and that the big boom of DRAM business did not come and now they end up with lot of unused capacity of 8" fabs, that is the reasons they delay the expansion of 8" fabs and 12" as well. Besides, as a shrinkage of the dies, you generate more dies per 8" wafer , together with the over capacity of 8" fabs, people did not see the reasons for further expansion. Besides the DRAM, the general business conditions in the chip industry is not that bad as you think, but just some slow down due to seasonal reason. To AMAT, it is its own problem , due to the over expansion of fab capacity in ASIA in the past couple of years, and it takes time to digest it . But the general business conditions of semi is still sound. |
