August 18, 2008 – Worldwide silicon wafer demand area shipments had been sluggish in previous quarters, but picked back up in 2Q08 to typical seasonal levels, according to data from SEMI’s Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG).

Worldwide silicon area shipments in 2Q totaled 2303 millions of sq. in. (MSI), about 6.5% more than in 1Q08 and 4.6% higher than 2Q07. That follows three straight quarters of flat or slightly negative growth, and is the highest Q-Q increase in nearly three years (3Q05, 8.8%), while year-on-year growth has stayed in the same 4%-5% range for the past four quarters.

For 1H08, wafer shipments increased about 2.5% from the previous half-year (2H07) and 3.8% from 1H07.

The return to growth in 2Q08 is back in line with normal seasonality, coinciding with Japanese companies’ fiscal first quarters, and is a good sign “following the slightly weaker first quarter and macro economic concerns,” according to Kazuyo Heinink, chairwoman of SEMI SMG and VP of product marketing at MEMC Electronic Materials, in a statement. She attributed the growth mainly to demand for 300mm wafers.