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Thanks for recording the numbers,

Maybe comparing Q2 to Q1 is not as accurate?

From the numbers, Q2 in 2015 looks pretty comparable to the Q2 2014 which also picked up from Q12014.

just an observation, business still looks pretty good.

North America: A Critical Player in the Advanced Semiconductor Market
By Lara Chamness, Industry Research and Statistics, SEMI
http://www.semi.org/en/node/55906?id=highlights
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The End Of Moore's Law? Or The End Of The American Entrepreneurial Spirit?
MAY 11, 2015
Gil Press
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gilpress/201...al-spirit/
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Gordon Moore is still amazed at how Moore's Law shaped the tech industry
Mark Hachman | @markhachman
Senior Editor, PCWorld
May 12, 2015
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2921051/g...ustry.html
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Roadmap To 5nm
Convergence of many solutions needed.
MAY 11TH, 2015 - BY: SEMI
http://semiengineering.com/the-roadmap-to-5nm/

First Quarter 2015 Silicon Wafer Shipments Reach Record Levels

SAN JOSE, Calif. — May 18, 2015 — Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments increased during the first quarter 2015 when compared to fourth quarter 2014 area shipments according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry.

Total silicon wafer area shipments were 2,637 million square inches during the most recent quarter, a 3.4 percent increase from the 2,550 million square inches shipped during the previous quarter, resulting in a new quarterly volume shipment record. New quarterly total area shipments are 11.6 percent higher than first quarter 2014 shipments.

"Total silicon shipment volumes for the first quarter of this year surpassed the record high reached in the third quarter of last year,” said Ginji Yada, chairman of SEMI SMG and general manager, International Sales & Marketing Department of SUMCO Corporation. “Silicon shipments for the most recent quarter benefited from the strong market momentum the semiconductor market enjoyed last year.”

Quarterly Silicon* Area Shipment Trends

Millions of Square Inches

Q1 2014 = 2,363

Q3 2014 = 2,597

Q4 2014 = 2,550

Q1 2015 = 2,637

*Shipments are for semiconductor applications only and do not include solar applications

Silicon wafers are the fundamental building material for semiconductors, which in turn, are vital components of virtually all electronics goods, including computers, telecommunications products, and consumer electronics. The highly engineered thin round disks are produced in various diameters (from one inch to 12 inches) and serve as the substrate material on which most semiconductor devices or "chips" are fabricated.

All data cited in this release is inclusive of polished silicon wafers, including virgin test wafers, epitaxial silicon wafers, as well as non-polished silicon wafers shipped by the wafer manufacturers to the end-users.

The Silicon Manufacturers Group acts as an independent special interest group within the SEMI structure and is open to SEMI members involved in manufacturing polycrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon or silicon wafers (e.g., as cut, polished, epi, etc.). The purpose of the group is to facilitate collective efforts on issues related to the silicon industry including the development of market information and statistics about the silicon industry and the semiconductor market.

http://www.semi.org/en/node/56101?id=highlights

(19-05-2015, 08:23 AM)Boon Wrote: [ -> ]First Quarter 2015 Silicon Wafer Shipments Reach Record Levels

SAN JOSE, Calif. — May 18, 2015 — Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments increased during the first quarter 2015 when compared to fourth quarter 2014 area shipments according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry.

Total silicon wafer area shipments were 2,637 million square inches during the most recent quarter, a 3.4 percent increase from the 2,550 million square inches shipped during the previous quarter, resulting in a new quarterly volume shipment record. New quarterly total area shipments are 11.6 percent higher than first quarter 2014 shipments.

"Total silicon shipment volumes for the first quarter of this year surpassed the record high reached in the third quarter of last year,” said Ginji Yada, chairman of SEMI SMG and general manager, International Sales & Marketing Department of SUMCO Corporation. “Silicon shipments for the most recent quarter benefited from the strong market momentum the semiconductor market enjoyed last year.”

Quarterly Silicon* Area Shipment Trends

Millions of Square Inches

Q1 2014 = 2,363

Q3 2014 = 2,597

Q4 2014 = 2,550

Q1 2015 = 2,637

*Shipments are for semiconductor applications only and do not include solar applications

Silicon wafers are the fundamental building material for semiconductors, which in turn, are vital components of virtually all electronics goods, including computers, telecommunications products, and consumer electronics. The highly engineered thin round disks are produced in various diameters (from one inch to 12 inches) and serve as the substrate material on which most semiconductor devices or "chips" are fabricated.

All data cited in this release is inclusive of polished silicon wafers, including virgin test wafers, epitaxial silicon wafers, as well as non-polished silicon wafers shipped by the wafer manufacturers to the end-users.

The Silicon Manufacturers Group acts as an independent special interest group within the SEMI structure and is open to SEMI members involved in manufacturing polycrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon or silicon wafers (e.g., as cut, polished, epi, etc.). The purpose of the group is to facilitate collective efforts on issues related to the silicon industry including the development of market information and statistics about the silicon industry and the semiconductor market.

http://www.semi.org/en/node/56101?id=highlights

This news is actually nothing much..
My customer for my tool is the ONLY WAFERHOUSE in SG...
And their fab utilization has always been beyond 100% for the past 4 years at least..

Yet they are not increasing capex despite robust demand and high fab utilization..
In fact, they have been going on extreme cost cutting measures and reducing service contracts as well..

As i mentioned earlier..
My company just reduced worldwide headcount by 10%..

Recession is either coming or the big fabs (except Microns in SG) are preparing for it...

or the overheads and labour costs in singapore are just getting to expensive for them so they are pumping as much as they can from SG and then moving over somewhere else like Taiwan or maybe even USA.

by the way, is your customer ST Microelectronics?

(20-05-2015, 12:37 AM)BlueKelah Wrote: [ -> ]or the overheads and labour costs in singapore are just getting to expensive for them so they are pumping as much as they can from SG and then moving over somewhere else like Taiwan or maybe even USA.

by the way, is your customer ST Microelectronics?

One of the possibilities I am thinking of. The "somewhere else", might not necessary be Taiwan, and USA. The nearby Penang is a very good choice, with abundance of talent sources, lower operating cost, and local gov supports

FYI, UMS has started a new plant in Penang, recently.

(vested)

(19-05-2015, 07:04 PM)Zelphon Wrote: [ -> ]

(19-05-2015, 08:23 AM)Boon Wrote: [ -> ]First Quarter 2015 Silicon Wafer Shipments Reach Record Levels

SAN JOSE, Calif. — May 18, 2015 — Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments increased during the first quarter 2015 when compared to fourth quarter 2014 area shipments according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry.

Total silicon wafer area shipments were 2,637 million square inches during the most recent quarter, a 3.4 percent increase from the 2,550 million square inches shipped during the previous quarter, resulting in a new quarterly volume shipment record. New quarterly total area shipments are 11.6 percent higher than first quarter 2014 shipments.

"Total silicon shipment volumes for the first quarter of this year surpassed the record high reached in the third quarter of last year,” said Ginji Yada, chairman of SEMI SMG and general manager, International Sales & Marketing Department of SUMCO Corporation. “Silicon shipments for the most recent quarter benefited from the strong market momentum the semiconductor market enjoyed last year.”

Quarterly Silicon* Area Shipment Trends

Millions of Square Inches

Q1 2014 = 2,363

Q3 2014 = 2,597

Q4 2014 = 2,550

Q1 2015 = 2,637

*Shipments are for semiconductor applications only and do not include solar applications

Silicon wafers are the fundamental building material for semiconductors, which in turn, are vital components of virtually all electronics goods, including computers, telecommunications products, and consumer electronics. The highly engineered thin round disks are produced in various diameters (from one inch to 12 inches) and serve as the substrate material on which most semiconductor devices or "chips" are fabricated.

All data cited in this release is inclusive of polished silicon wafers, including virgin test wafers, epitaxial silicon wafers, as well as non-polished silicon wafers shipped by the wafer manufacturers to the end-users.

The Silicon Manufacturers Group acts as an independent special interest group within the SEMI structure and is open to SEMI members involved in manufacturing polycrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon or silicon wafers (e.g., as cut, polished, epi, etc.). The purpose of the group is to facilitate collective efforts on issues related to the silicon industry including the development of market information and statistics about the silicon industry and the semiconductor market.

http://www.semi.org/en/node/56101?id=highlights

This news is actually nothing much..
My customer for my tool is the ONLY WAFERHOUSE in SG...
And their fab utilization has always been beyond 100% for the past 4 years at least..

Yet they are not increasing capex despite robust demand and high fab utilization..
In fact, they have been going on extreme cost cutting measures and reducing service contracts as well..

As i mentioned earlier..
My company just reduced worldwide headcount by 10%..

Recession is either coming or the big fabs (except Microns in SG) are preparing for it...

It appears to me that you could not relate this piece of industry good news to what your company and customer are experiencing (headcount reduction and cost reduction measures) - which I could fully understand.

What was the reason for the headcount reduction ? Loosing market share to competitors ?

If the No:4 semi-tool maker is loosing market share to the No:1 tool maker, this would probably be positive for AMAT and possibly UMS......ha-ha!

This is the UMS tread, things got to be looked at from the right perspective..................

The key is the ASP of the wafers... for legacy nodes, ASP are shipping out at decline of ~10% annually IIRC.

(20-05-2015, 09:29 AM)CityFarmer Wrote: [ -> ]

(20-05-2015, 12:37 AM)BlueKelah Wrote: [ -> ]or the overheads and labour costs in singapore are just getting to expensive for them so they are pumping as much as they can from SG and then moving over somewhere else like Taiwan or maybe even USA.

by the way, is your customer ST Microelectronics?

One of the possibilities I am thinking of. The "somewhere else", might not necessary be Taiwan, and USA. The nearby Penang is a very good choice, with abundance of talent sources, lower operating cost, and local gov supports

FYI, UMS has started a new plant in Penang, recently.

(vested)

Yes a good place to go would be penang. only state in M'sia run by local chinese. IIRC, DELL set up shop there for asiapac region last time when they came into Asia. Think they still give out tax-free incentives for newcomers.

Not sure if this posted before, article I came by.

Penang to Host Inaugural SEMICON Southeast Asia
Organiser SEMI aims to champion regional collaboration to seize opportunities in this US$ 19 billion (RM66.5 billion) industry over the next two years

KUALA LUMPUR — 25 February 2015 — The inaugural SEMICON Southeast Asia, will run from 22–24 April at the Subterranean Penang International Convention and Exhibition Centre (SPICE) in Penang, Malaysia. The event promises to be larger and more comprehensive than its predecessor SEMICON Singapore, which has been held annually since 1993, with an expanded programme and larger audience base focusing on Southeast Asia communities in the semiconductor and microelectronics sector. The expanded strategy for the new SEMICON Southeast Asia Show — between Singapore, Malaysia and potentially the rest of the regions — will open new business opportunities for customers and foster stronger cross-regional engagement, according to SEMI, the event organiser. SEMICON Southeast Asia will feature a tradeshow exhibition, networking events, market and technology seminars, and conferences.

KLA-Tencor cuts back EUV investment
27 Apr 2015
Workforce set to be cut by up to 10% amid lack of demand for KLA’s extreme UV lithography mask inspection tool.

Reticle inspection

KLA-Tencor, the US-headquartered supplier of metrology tools to the semiconductor industry – and a major purchaser of lasers – is to cut its global workforce by as much as 10 per cent in response to slow uptake of new wafer inspection equipment for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography.

The Milpitas, California, company said initially that it was “streamlining its organization and business processes” in response to changing customer requirements, but in an investor call to discuss KLA’s latest financial results CEO Rick Wallace was more specific................................................

http://optics.org/news/6/4/35
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The not-so-brave new world of semiconductor manufacturing
by Len Jelinek

As Moore’s Law begins to break down, chip makers risk making billion-dollar bets on next-generation technology with consequences for the entire electronics value chain.

The semiconductor industry has a problem with two four-letter words: cost and risk. After a couple of decades of boom-and-bust cycles, the industry settled into a period of modest yet relatively stable growth in the early part of this century. Driving the vast majority of the industry’s revenue was the personal computer, sales of which grew steadily year after year. More recently, however, the world’s ardor for PCs has cooled as consumers and businesses have gravitated to mobile devices, principally smartphones and tablet computers. The growth rates for smartphones and tablets, at least at the high end of those markets, are beginning to slow, as buyers shift to lower-priced products, especially in emerging markets, such as China. The problem for the semiconductor industry is that as the PC market has slumped, mobile devices aren’t taking their place as the profitable drivers of increasing chip sales.

In the midst of this product transition, the industry has an expensive and tricky juggling act – continuing to shrink the dimensions of semiconductors while reducing the manufacturing cost of those chips. Scaling, as this shrinking is called within the industry, proceeds apace, but the cost of scaling is becoming a significant concern. (See figure below.)...................

https://www.ihs.com/articles/features/se...uctor.html