February 6, 2004 – A recent report from the Fabless Semiconductor Association (FSA) concludes that by 2010, the semiconductor industry will grow to $360 billion, with more than one-third of industry revenue coming from outsourced operations.

The report, “Transition to 300mm wafers should drive secular changes,” authored by Morgan Stanley’s global semiconductor research group with data provided by the FSA, explains that the shift toward outsourcing derives from chipmakers’ struggle to swallow the rising cost of wafer fabs — upwards of $2.5 billion for a 300mm fab. As a result, the wafer foundry market segment is predicted to grow to $49 billion by 2010.

Morgan Stanley and the FSA plan to update the data with a supply forecast later this year, including data from company surveys, third-party capacity data, and equipment capital expenditures.