Chip sales rise, equipment orders drop in August
11/01/2002
BUSINESS TRENDS
Chip sales rise, equipment orders drop in August
Chip sales increased month-to-month and year-to-year in August, supporting thoughts of a broad-based recovery, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
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Global chip sales totaled $11.9 billion in August, a 2.2% sequential increase over the $11.7 billion level reached in July, and a 14% increase from August of 2001, the first double-digit increase from the industry's cyclical low in 2001.
"The August data confirm that the semiconductor industry is in the midst of a broad-based upturn," stated SIA President George Scalise. "After 5.6% sequential growth in 1Q02 and 5.8% growth in 2Q, the double-digit year-over-year increase in August sales is yet further evidence of a sustained and durable recovery."
Equipment orders, however, dropped in August. The North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.12 billion in orders in August and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.14, according to Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (Semi). The bookings figure is 5% below the revised July level of $1.18 billion yet 57% above the $715 million in orders posted in August of last year.
In other industry news, VLSI Research Inc.'s August Industry Pulse Pro showed that frontend capacity utilization totaled 86.7%, up from the revised utilization number of 84.8% in July. That number is projected to rise to 88.3% in September, and hit 90.3% in October, before dropping to 87.5% in November, according to VLSI.
Worldwide Highlights
Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (Semi) reported worldwide semiconductor-manufacturing equipment billings of $4.66 billion 2Q02. The figure is 34% below the same quarter a year ago, but 15% above the billings figure for 1Q02. Semi also reported worldwide equipment orders of $6.72 billion in 2Q02, a 57% increase from the same quarter a year ago, and 62% above the orders figure for 1Q02.
Semi has created a relief fund to provide assistance to those affected by the devastating floods in central Europe. The fund is open to its global staff, its member companies, and to all corporate and individual donors wishing to make contributions. All donations will be transferred to the International Red Cross and earmarked for the Dresden flood victims.
"The epic floods in Europe have been an extraordinary hardship for the people in the region. The Red Cross estimates that damages in Germany alone exceed $10 billion," said Stanley Myers, president and CEO of Semi. "Recognizing the bond between participants in the global semiconductor equipment and materials industry and the people in the semiconductor-producing region near Dresden, the Semi board of directors has authorized our association to establish a fund to support relief efforts in the region on behalf of the global Semi membership." Contributions should be made out to the "American Red Cross" and sent to: Semi, c/o American Red Cross Relief Fund, 3081 Zanker Road, San Jose, CA 95134.
USA
Cabot Microelectronics Corp., Aurora, IL, and Metron Technology, Boulder, CO, have modified their distribution agreement so that Cabot will assume direct distribution of its products in Europe, Singapore, and Malaysia, while Metron will continue to distribute Cabot's products in Israel.
Mentor Graphics Corp., Wilsonville, OR, has been awarded a US patent on its adaptive model evaluation technology, a component of its Mach TA IC simulation tool design. Mentor Graphics is a provider of electronic hardware and software design solutions.
Nikon Corp., Tokyo, Japan, has set up a new sales office in Tempe, AZ, with 37 employees. The unit will initially be a branch of the Melville, NY-based Nikon Instruments Inc., but could be spun off into a separate company in the future.
Electroglas Inc., San Jose, CA, a supplier of process management tools, has reduced overall headcount by 130, partially offset by an addition of 45 employees at the company's new manufacturing facility in Singapore. The changes are in response to current business conditions.
Cadence Design Systems Inc., San Jose, CA, and Taiwan foundry UMC have unveiled a joint initiative to help customers facilitate the smooth transition to fabrication through physical design verification using Cadence's technology for nanometer designs. Under this initiative, Cadence's Assura physical verification solution DRC decks for 0.25, 0.18, and 0.13µm CMOS logic technologies are now available for download free-of-charge on UMC's "My UMC" customer web site.
Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Inc. (VSEA), Gloucester, MA, a supplier of ion implantation systems, has been issued US patent 6,374,144 for a "Method and Apparatus for Controlling a System Using Hierarchical State Machines." The patent covers VSEA's control system for VIISta ion implantation systems.
Advanced Photonix Inc., Camarillo, CA, a supplier of silicon-based electro-optical products, has acquired the assets of Silicon Sensors LLC, Dodgeville, WI, for $1.7 million. Silicon Sensors is a privately owned developer and manufacturer of optoelectronics semiconductor-based components, hybrid assemblies, and other solid-state light and radiation detection devices.
MoSys Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, a provider of high-density SoC embedded memory solutions, has completed its acquisition of ATMOS Corp. The acquisition will enable MoSys to expand its engineering capabilities and facilitate development of additional 1T-SRAM product offerings. Based on the final terms of the agreement, MoSys will pay approximately $12 million in cash along with a distribution of 61,729 shares of common stock to ATMOS employee shareholders, subject to their continued employment after the acquisition.
Europe
Flextronics, Oak Ridge, TN, is set to cut 527 jobs in Sweden from its staff of some 9000, due to weakness in the telecom industry. Most of the job losses will be at the Karlskrona unit.
Integrated Dynamics Engineering (IDE), Raunheim, Germany, is expanding its distribution reach in France with the appointment of Caleo s.a., a French holding company providing technical support and services to the semiconductor industry. Caleo will focus on IDE's range of wafer sorters and packaging tools.
TePla AG, Feldkirchen, Munich, a manufacturer of plasma systems, is set to merge with PVA Vakuum-Anlagenbau GmbH, Asslar, to form PVA TePla AG. The merger states that PVA, as the transferring company, will be merged with TePla AG retroactively from Dec. 31, 2001. PVA will transfer its entire assets as well as rights and obligations in return for the insurance of TePla shares to the PVA shareholders.
Asia Pacific
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, said that its Korean subsidiary, Merck Advanced Technologies Ltd., Seoul, has opened its new ¤10 million Liquid Crystal Technical Center in the Poseung Industrial Park. The center, which will develop and manufacture liquid crystal mixtures, will have an initial capacity of some 30 tons/year and has been designed for expansion. The 6500-m2 facility has 33 employees. It will employ up to 50 by January.
Veeco Instruments Inc., Woodbury, NY, has established a China Nanotechnology Center (CNC) in Beijing. The facility will be staffed with local scientists and engineers, and equipped with Veeco's latest atomic force microscope, scanning tunneling microscope products, and other advanced nanotechnology application modules. The CNC will be jointly operated with the Institute of Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Samsung Electronics Co., Seoul, Korea, plans to invest 133.5 billion won (some $112 million) to build two additional 300mm semiconductor lines. The company plans to make the investment sometime between 3Q02 and 1Q03. Production is expected to begin in 2004.
ON Semiconductor, Phoenix, AZ, has won Chinese approval for its mainland joint venture to spend up to $231 million to expand its plant in Sichuan province. ON plans to process 150mm wafers in China.
Zhongxin International Integrated Circuit Co., Shanghai, China, plans to invest $1.2 billion to build a 200mm fab in Beijing, which will be called Zhongxin Global Semiconductor Corp. Ltd. Monthly production is planned at 30,000 pieces.
National Semiconductor Corp., Santa Clara, CA, has signed an MoU with the Suzhou Industrial Park Administrative Committee to lease 36 acres of land for an assembly and test plant in China's Suzhou Industrial Park. As part of this expansion into China, National Semiconductor expects to invest up to $200 million for construction, equipment, facilities, and personnel during the next five years. Construction of the new IC-manufacturing facility in east China's Jiangsu Province is expected to begin this month. The facility is expected to be operational, with around 500 employees, in 2004.
Silicon epitaxial wafer provider Precision Silicon Corp., Taipei, Taiwan, plans to offer SiGe epitaxial wafer services by the end of CY02, and intends to spend $3 million on equipment for the production. The company has teamed with a Japanese company in the SiGe wafer project, the Japanese partner agreeing to license its technology to Precision Silicon in exchange for Precision Silicon's investment and production of the wafers.
Japan
Air Liquide and BOC will combine their Japanese industrial and medical gases businesses within Air Liquide Japan (ALJ) and Osaka Sanso Kogyo (OSK), creating a new entity named Japan Air Gases Ltd. The transaction is subject to ALJ's and OSK's shareholders' approval and the receipt of formal clearance from the Japanese FTC and the European Commission. It is then expected that the new company will be established in early 2003.
Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TEL), Ebara Corp., and Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co. Ltd. have entered into a memorandum of agreement to found a joint venture company that will develop, manufacture, and market a low-energy e-beam direct-writing system.
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The joint venture company, tentatively named E-Beam Corp., will also develop related enabling technologies, as well as conduct process verifications, with the aim of going into a full-scale shipment of a system capable of 65nm resolution by 2005.