May 6, 2005 – Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments decreased <2% during the 1Q05 when compared to the 4Q04 areas shipments, according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry. Total silicon wafer area shipments were 1,465 million square inches during the most recent quarter, down from the 1,486 million square inches shipped during the previous quarter. The new quarterly total area shipments are 4% below first quarter 2004 shipments.

“Coming off of a record year, we expected and experienced a slight drop in unit shipments during the first quarter of 2005” said Makoto Tsukada, chairman of SEMI SMG and GM of Shin-Etsu Handotai Co. Ltd. “However, we continue to see strong sequential growth in 300mm wafer shipments.”

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 acquisition of market information and statistics about the silicon industry and the semiconductor market.