Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: 16yearcycle who wrote (32888)	10/19/1999 8:33:00 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 70976

Chip gear suppliers wait -- and hope -- for a strong finish to '99 A service of Semiconductor Business News, CMP Media Inc. AUSTIN, Tex. -- Semiconductor capital equipment suppliers convening her at the Semicon Southwest trade show are hopeful foe a string finish to 1999. Otherwise, it will not be the recovery year many had expected after 1998's disastrous 21% plunge in chip making tool sales. With cautious chip companies still waiting to launch major new production projects, total spending on semiconductor equipment in the first eight months of 1999 was 11.1% lower than the same period last year, said Elizabeth Schumann, senior market analyst for the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) trade group. From January to August, chip makers bought $14.5 billion worth of tools, compared to $16.3 billion in the first eight months of 1998. "Overall, we are likely to end up with a slightly double-digit growth in 1999, but we would need four $2.1 billion months," said Schumann during a morning market session at SEMI's trade show today. Schumann's own forecast is for a 5% growth in semiconductor equipment revenues versus SEMI's three-month-old official forecast of 9% to $23.8 billion in 1999. Equipment revenues totaled $21.8 billion in 1998. Unlike 1998, this year's equipment business is expected to see an uptick in fab spending as silicon foundries and logic IC makers begin to add systems to close the gap between capacity and strong demand. Memory manufacturers--in particular, DRAM merchants--are not expected to join the spending spree until mid-2000. In a breakdown of regional capital investments, equipment spending in North America was 21% lower--at $4.5 billion--in the first nine months of this year compared to $5.6 billion in the same period last year. Schumann told the session that capital spending in North America will most likely end up 10% lower than a year ago as investments start grow in the fourth quarter. In Europe, chip makers took delivery on $1.7 billion worth of production tools, a decline of 20% from $2.2 billion. Schumann expects that region to end up even with 1998. Japan's semiconductor capital purchases were 11% lower in the first eight months of this year compared to a year ago, when the figure was at $3.5 billion. The SEMI market analyst said she thinks Japan will end up with a small single-digit growth by the end of the year. Even Taiwan's total semiconductor equipment purchases were 6% lower by August compared to the first eight months of 1998. About $2.4 billion in equipment shipments were made in Taiwan versus $2.6 billion last year, Schumann said. However, investments being made by Taiwan's powerful pure-play foundries will push the country's market jump into single-digit growth, she added. South Korea--last year's troubled equipment market--is growing the fastest, according to recent figures collected by SEMI. Equipment shipments totaled $1.2 billion in the first eight months, 28% higher than $928 million in the same period last year. "This market will be up substantially," Schumann told the session. "It could be up 80% by the end of the year." 204.247.196.14