•Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment Market Seen Improving February
22, 1999 (TAIPEI) -- Taiwan companies expect prospects for the
semiconductor manufacturing equipment market to brighten after mid-1999.
Due to the Asian financial crisis and sluggish demand, the global
semiconductor manufacturing equipment market shrank by about 20 percent
to US$17.1 billion in 1998.
Analysts at Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI)
point out that the United States was the largest supplier of
semiconductor manufacturing equipment in 1998, grabbing 34 percent of
the global market.
Nevertheless, its growth was down 21 percent from 1997. Japan followed
the United States by controlling 24 percent of the market, but its
growth decreased by 38 percent from the 1997 figure to stand at US$4.1
billion.
Korea's semiconductor equipment manufacturing industry, which enjoyed
remarkable growth from 1993 to 1996, suffered a major slide of 49.2
percent to US$1.5 billion in 1997. Industry sources estimate the
sector's output in 1998 at a mere US$800 million, marking a drop of 76
percent from 1997.
Taiwan reported comparatively steady performance for 1998, when its
semiconductor manufacturing equipment output fell by a paltry 6 percent.
According to preliminary figures, local output totaled US$3 billion and
represented an 18 percent share of the global market in 1998.
Local companies said that technology has not yet matured in Taiwan, and
it will take anywhere from three to five years for all semiconductor
manufacturing equipment makers here to upgrade their technology
standard.
Analysts urge local suppliers to be more cautious when investing in the
manufacturing of 300mm equipment.
The most important thing now, they said, is to reduce costs and head
toward designing products with higher added value.
It is also important to know how to adopt new technology and equipment
to boost competitiveness, according to analysts.
(Commercial Times, Taiwan)
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Updated: Fri Feb 19 14:55:44 1999 PDT |
