Worldwide highlights
02/01/1998
Worldwide highlights
Growth seen in front-end tool market. The world market for front-end wafer processing tools will grow 13.7% in 1998, compared to 8.2% growth in 1997, reports The Information Network, Williamsburg, VA. Among the hottest sectors will be lithography, rapid thermal processing, and resist processing, all of which are seen growing at well over 10%, with steppers and step-and- scan equipment seen rising 18.3% to $6.6 billion (see table).
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Robert Castellano, president of The Information Network, indicated that generally good economic health around the world will create healthy demand for electronic products, with "consumer confidence fueling robust demand for PCs."
October equipment book-to-bill dips. SEMI reported that both equipment sales and shipments at North American companies declined slightly month-to-month in October, but new orders outstripped billings, resulting in a book-to-bill ratio of 1.06. While this is the lowest equipment book-to-bill since December 1996, the indicator is still above 1.0, indicating an expanding market. The SEMI preliminary figures showed equipment orders at $1.638 billion, down about 8% from September levels of $1.781 billion, but up 97% over year-ago totals. Shipments dipped about 5% month-to-month, to $1.548 billion, which is 44% better than a year earlier.
Capital investment spending to rise 5%. Worldwide capital spending by semiconductor companies will increase 5% in 1998 (see table), according to Morgan Stanley Dean Witter analyst Jay Deahna. Fab retrofits will increase, translating into a rise of up to 10% for equipment sales as more dollars go into hardware instead of facilities. South Korean chipmakers will make cuts in spending plans, reducing them below currently announced levels. Intel will boost its investments to $5.2 billion in 1998 from 1997 levels of $4.5 billion. The strongest regions will be North America, Taiwan, and Europe, which should give non-Japanese equipment suppliers a good chance to win additional market share.
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Chip billings up in October. Worldwide sales of semiconductors rose again in October, by 1.4% over September levels to $11.99 billion, according to the SIA`s World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (see table). The sales level represents a 12% rise from year-ago levels of $10.7 billion; 1997 sales have now exceeded 1996 levels for six consecutive months. Japan registered the softest sales figures. Total billings for October were $2.74 billion, down 2.5% from September levels of $2.82 billion, and off 0.8% from a year ago. The European market posting a 6.2% month-to-month sales increase to $2.53 billion, up 13.3% over last year. The Americas are still the largest market for chips, posting October sales of $3.98 billion, up 15.4% from $3.45 billion a year before.