MARCH 19, 2009 — SAN JOSE, CA — According to the World Fab Forecast report recently released by SEMI, 2009 spending on worldwide fabs equipping front-end facilities is expected to hit the lowest levels since 1994.

All regions are showing double-digit declines in construction spending in 2009, with the possible exception of the Americas. The Americas have experienced some of the lowest spending levels in the past few years, but are expected to see growth driven by Intel and AMD.

Worldwide, eight facilities are expected to commence operations in 2009, and in 2010, a total of about 18 additional facilities may begin operations.

Since the global economic downturn, the hardest hit area in semiconductor manufacturing has been the memory industry, which has experienced bankruptcies and consolidations. A prime example of this is Qimonda, which filed for insolvency in January 2009, and subsequently closed down its manufacturing in the US, and dramatically cut capacity by 75 percent in its Front End fab in Dresden for the first quarter of 2009.

New growth will take time in the memory segment, which has dominated spending levels and capacity growth in the industry since 2001; however, plans by Intel and AMD are continuing investments in advanced technology.

Recently, both companies have announced multi-billion dollar plans for upgrades and capacity expansion both in the U.S. and internationally. These investments also represent the largest investment in the U.S. since 2007, when Intel launched Fab 32 and IM Flash established the Lehi and Manassas fabs.

The SEMI World Fab Forecast provides high level summaries and graphs; in-depth analysis of capital expenditure, capacity, technology and products, down to the detail of each fab; and forecasts for the next 18 months.

Visit www.semi.org/fabs for additional information on these reports.