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Global desktop monitor sell-in revenue rose 7 percent in the third quarter (Q3) of 2014, as average selling prices (ASPs) rose just over 10 percent. According to a new report from DisplaySearch, now part of IHS, worldwide desktop PC monitor shipments declined just over 3 percent, to reach 34 million units.

“Sales margins for desktop displays have declined over time, and manufacturers are now trying to reverse that trend with bigger sizes and improved features, to justify higher prices,” said Hidetoshi Himuro, director of PC/IT market research for DisplaySearch. “In the face of tablets and notebook computers with integrated displays, demand for desktop monitors is shifting toward higher display quality and resolution, with improved performance for professional operation and computer gaming.”

Table: Monitor Set Shipment Attribute Comparison 

Item

Q3’13

Q3’14

Y/Y change
Average Sales Price

$155

$171

10%
Size share  – 20″ and above

60%

64%

7%
Resolution share  – 1920×1080 and above

48%

55%

14%
Wide Viewing Angle Share (IPS/FFS+VA)

17%

19%

13%

Source: DisplaySearch Quarterly Desktop Monitor Shipment and Forecast Report, Q3 2014.

In order to improve PC display penetration rates, average screen sizes have been steadily increasing. For example, market share for 20-inch-and-larger desktop monitor screens rose from 60 percent in Q3 2013 to 64 percent in Q3 of this year. Displays with full-high-definition (FHD) and higher resolutions have grown from 48 percent in Q3 2013 to 55 percent in Q3 of this year. Desktop PC displays shipped with wide viewing angle technology have also increased from 17 percent to 19 percent, year over year.

SEMI projects that worldwide sales of new semiconductor manufacturing equipment will increase 19.3 percent to $38.0 billion in 2014, according to the SEMI Year-end Forecast, released today at the annual SEMICON Japan exposition.  In 2015, strong positive growth is expected to continue, resulting in a global market increase of 15.2 percent before moderating in 2016.

The SEMI Year-end Forecast predicts that wafer processing equipment, the largest product segment by dollar value, is anticipated to increase 17.8 percent in 2014 to total $29.9 billion. The forecast predicts that the market for assembly and packaging equipment will increase by 30.6 percent to $3.0 billion in 2014. The market for semiconductor test equipment is forecast to increase by 26.5 percent, reaching $3.4 billion this year. The “Other Front End” category (fab facilities, mask/reticle, and wafer manufacturing equipment) is expected to increase 14.8 percent in 2014.

For 2014, Taiwan, North America, and South Korea remain the largest spending regions.  In terms of percentage growth, SEMI forecasts that in 2015, Europe will reach equipment sales of $3.9 billion (47.9 percent increase over 2014), Taiwan will reach $12.3 billion (28.1 percent increase), and South Korea sales will hit $8.0 billion (25.0 percent increase).

The following results are given in terms of market size in billions of U.S. dollars:

The Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS) from SEMI provides comprehensive market data for the global semiconductor equipment market.

SEMI is the global industry association serving the nano- and microelectronics manufacturing supply chains.

North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.10 billion in orders worldwide in October 2014 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.93, according to the October EMDS Book-to-Bill Report published today by SEMI.   A book-to-bill of 0.93 means that $93 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

The three-month average of worldwide bookings in October 2014 was $1.10 billion. The bookings figure is 7.0 percent lower than the final September 2014 level of $1.19 billion, and is 1.9 percent lower than the October 2013 order level of $1.12 billion.

The three-month average of worldwide billings in October 2014 was $1.18 billion. The billings figure is 5.8 percent lower than the final September 2014 level of $1.26 billion, and is 10.6 percent higher than the October 2013 billings level of $1.07 billion.

“While the global semiconductor equipment industry will see strong double-digit growth this year and is slated for further growth in 2015, order activity posted by North American suppliers has moderated, resulting in a book-to-bill ratio below parity for two consecutive months,” said SEMI president and CEO Denny McGuirk.

The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.

 

Billings
(3-mo. avg)

Bookings
(3-mo. avg)

Book-to-Bill
May 2014

$1,407.8

$1,407.0

1.00
June 2014

$1,327.5

$1,455.0

1.10
July 2014

$1,319.1

$1,417.1

1.07
August 2014

$1,293.4

$1,346.1

1.04
September 2014 (final)

$1,256.5

$1,186.2

0.94
October 2014 (prelim)

$1,184.0

$1,102.9

0.93

Source: SEMI, November 2014 

According to preliminary results from the upcoming DisplaySearch Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report, in the third quarter of this year, the global notebook PC market grew 10 percent year over year, to reach 49.4 million units. Global shipments of tablet PCs, by comparison, fell 8 percent. Notebook PC growth was primarily driven by the developed regions of North America and Western Europe, which increased year-over-year shipments by more than 20 percent in the third quarter.

“The slump in tablet PC demand contributed to the growth in notebook PCs,” said Hisakazu Torii, vice president of smart application research at DisplaySearch, now part of IHS Inc. “Back-to-school sales were quite good, and this growth was supported by low-priced, Windows-based notebook PCs and Chromebooks. Chromebook sales were especially strong in the United States, especially in the commercial and education markets, due to easier IT management and volume-discount offers.”

Chromebooks are forecast to reach 5 percent (8 million units) of total global notebook PC shipments by the end of this year; however, if 2015 demand reaches the 20 million units planned by PC brands and OEMs, it is possible that the Chromebook share would rise to 12 percent. “Early Black Friday newspaper advertisements show some Windows-based notebook PCs and Chromebooks priced under $200,” Torii said.

The top five notebook PC brands collectively grew 23 percent in the third quarter of 2014, reaching 69 percent of total notebook units shipped. With strong sales in North America and Western Europe, the Lenovo Group and HP continued to lead the market, with shares of 20 percent and 19 percent, respectively. Lenovo Group led unit share in Western Europe and China, while HP took the leading position in North America, Eastern Europe and rest of the world. Year-over-year shipments of Apple’s iPad declined 13 percent, although Apple still ranked fifth globally, mainly due to increasing market share in North America. 

Table: Top-Five Worldwide Notebook PC Shipment Share 

Q3’14 Share Q3’13 Share Y/Y Growth
Lenovo Group 20% 16% 38%
HP 19% 18% 13%
Dell 12% 11% 21%
Acer Group 10% 9% 28%
Apple 9% 9% 15%
Total Top Five Brands 69% 62% 23%

Data note: Starting in Q1 2014, DisplaySearch included CCE, NEC, and Mobile Internet and Digital Home Business Group (MIDH) in Lenovo shipments. 

Source: DisplaySearch Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report

The NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report delivers insight into worldwide and regional mobile PC shipments with data for global and regional brands.

Freescale Semiconductor has been named a 2015 CES Innovation Awards Honoree for its Wearable Reference Platform (WaRP). WaRP is a community-based, Internet of Things platform offering designers unique product development flexibility in the quickly evolving consumer wearables market. It encourages design creativity by addressing key development challenges such as battery life, miniaturization, cost and usability.

Announced last night in New York City at the 2015 International CES Unveiled New York, the CES Innovation Awards is an annual competition honoring outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products. Products entered in this prestigious program are judged by a preeminent panel of independent industrial designers, engineers and members of the trade media, to recognize cutting-edge consumer electronics products across 28 product categories.

An honoree in the Embedded Technologies category, WaRP is a flexible platform built on a hybrid architecture that enables systems designers to move from prototype to product quickly and easily for a broad range of fitness, healthcare and infotainment wearables. The system-level development kit supports embedded wireless charging, incorporates Freescale processors and sensors, and comes with open-source software, a battery and a touchscreen LCD module. WaRP is a result of collaboration among Freescale, CircuitCo, Kynetics and Revolution Robotics.

“We are proud to be among the chosen CES Innovation Honorees, and look forward to seeing many new, imaginative wearable products made possible by the WaRP platform,” said Sujata Neidig, consumer market business development manager for Freescale. “We also want to congratulate our customer and fellow awardee AMPL Labs for the creative use of Freescale technology they’ve packed into their SmartBackpack, which is a great example of adding intelligence to everyday items.”

Freescale customer AMPL Labs was named a 2015 CES Innovation Awards Honoree in the Portable Power and Computer Accessories categories. The company’s SmartBackpack provides connected, on-the-go consumers with a versatile portable charging system, advanced protection of electronics carried in the bag, and wireless connectivity with mobile devices.

Freescale’s Kinetis KL26 microcontroller enabled AMPL Labs to design the backpack’s intelligence, which monitors battery levels, controls power flow for charging devices and communicates with mobile devices using Bluetooth LE. The backpack also utilizes several Freescale sensors, including an accelerometer and pressure sensors. The Freescale Freedom Development Platform (FRDM-KL26Z) enabled AMPL Labs to prototype quickly and efficiently.

“We are honored to win this prestigious CES award and to highlight the innovative ways we are using Freescale chips, technology and tools to make common, everyday things smarter,” said Michael Patton, CEO of AMPL Labs.

Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments increased during the third quarter 2014 when compared to second quarter area shipments according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) in its quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry.

Total silicon wafer area shipments were 2,597 million square inches during the most recent quarter, a 0.4 percent increase from the 2,587 million square inches shipped during the previous quarter. New quarterly total area shipments are 11.0 percent higher than third quarter 2013 shipments, according to SEMI.

“After reaching record levels in the second quarter, silicon wafer shipment volume growth plateaued during the most recent quarter,” said Hiroshi Sumiya, chairman of SEMI SMG and general manager of the Corporate Planning Department of Shin-Etsu Handotai Co., Ltd. “Year-to-date silicon volumes are 10 percent higher than the same period last year.”

Quarterly Silicon Area Shipment Trends

 

Million Square Inches
 

Q3 2013

Q2 2014

Q3 2014

Q1-Q3 2013

Q1-Q3 2014
Total

2,341

2,587

2,597

6,859

7,548

Semiconductor Silicon Shipments* – Millions of Square Inches

Silicon wafers are the fundamental building material for semiconductors, which in turn, are vital components of virtually all electronics goods, including computers, telecommunications products, and consumer electronics. The highly engineered thin round disks are produced in various diameters (from one inch to 12 inches) and serve as the substrate material on which most semiconductor devices or “chips” are fabricated.

All data cited in this release is inclusive of polished silicon wafers, including virgin test wafers, epitaxial silicon wafers, and non-polished silicon wafers shipped by the wafer manufacturers to the end-users.

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

For more information on the SEMI Worldwide Silicon Wafer Shipment Statistics, visit www.semi.org/en/MarketInfo/SiliconShipmentStatistics.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), representing U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and design, today applauded a long-sought deal between the U.S. and China to expand the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), a key trade pact that promotes fair and open trade by providing for duty-free treatment of certain information and communications technology (ICT) products, including semiconductors.

Following negotiations on the sideline of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ meeting in Beijing, President Obama announced a bilateral agreement on the product scope of an expanded ITA that includes next generation semiconductors, static converters and inductors, and an array of technology products including medical devices, GPS devices, software media, ICT testing instruments, and others. This breakthrough bilateral agreement will enable all negotiators to return to Geneva to finalize a pluri-lateral ITA deal, with full talks targeted for December.

“The ITA has played a central role in helping the U.S. semiconductor industry drive innovation, create jobs, lower consumer prices and connect communities throughout the world,” said Brian Toohey, president and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association. “Today’s agreement between the U.S. and China to expand the ITA is a hard-fought victory for the U.S. semiconductor industry and a big win for the U.S. economy and consumers around the world. We look forward to all ITA countries finalizing a deal as soon as possible.”

An expanded ITA – with an estimated value of over $1.4 trillion of annual world trade – represents one of the most valuable agreements for the global high tech industry in nearly two decades. It provides the first opportunity to include newly developed products resulting from the dynamic technological developments in the information technology sector since 1996, when the ITA was originally concluded.

U.S. negotiators sought expanded coverage for new and innovative semiconductor products, including multi-component semiconductors (MCOs). MCOs comprise a growing share of the global semiconductor market, and will be key to continued growth and innovation in a vast range of downstream products, services, and sectors, providing the basis for much needed economic growth and jobs. Inclusion of MCOs in an expanded ITA would save the industry $150 to $300 million in global annual tariffs. U.S. semiconductor companies stand to benefit significantly from expanding the ITA, given that semiconductors are one of America’s top exports.

As the trend toward “smart” products continues, demand for advanced semiconductor products like MCOs has been growing consistently in the past few years and will continue to do so in the future. According to industry experts and SIA estimates, global sales of MCOs are estimated to grow by 10 percent annually over the next 5 years.

“Expanding the ITA to keep pace with the latest technologies will fuel foreign and domestic semiconductor design and manufacturing investments, reduce costs for consumers, promote exports, and strengthen overall semiconductor sector development and growth,” said Toohey. “SIA would like to extend sincere thanks to President Obama and the U.S. negotiating team for achieving this strong and successful outcome for American businesses and consumers.”

Nine of the Top 20 Semiconductor Suppliers are Forecast to Register Double-Digit Growth in 2014

Later this month, IC Insights’ November Update to The 2014 McClean Report will show a forecast ranking of the 2014 top 25 semiconductor suppliers with the companies’ sales broken down on a quarterly basis.  A preview of the forecast for the top 20 companies’ total 2014 sales results is presented in Figure 1.  The top 20 worldwide semiconductor (IC and O S D—optoelectronic, sensor, and discrete) sales ranking for 2014 includes eight suppliers headquartered in the U.S., three in Japan, three in Europe, three in Taiwan, two in South Korea, and one in Singapore, a relatively broad representation of geographic regions.

This year’s top-20 ranking includes two pure-play foundries (TSMC and UMC) and six fabless companies.  Pure-play IC foundry GlobalFoundries is forecast to be replaced in this year’s top 20 ranking by fabless IC supplier Nvidia.  It is interesting to note that the top four semiconductor suppliers all have different business models.  Intel is essentially a pure-play IDM, Samsung a vertically integrated IC supplier, TSMC a pure-play foundry, and Qualcomm a fabless company.

IC foundries are included in the top 20 ranking because IC Insights has always viewed the ranking as a top supplier list, not as a marketshare ranking, and realizes that in some cases semiconductor sales are double counted.  With many of IC Insights’ clients being vendors to the semiconductor industry (supplying equipment, chemicals, gases, etc.), excluding large IC manufacturers like the foundries would leave significant “holes” in the list of top semiconductor suppliers.  Foundries and fabless companies are clearly identified in Figure 1.  In the April Update to The McClean Report, marketshare rankings of IC suppliers by product type were presented and foundries were excluded from these listings.

As shown, it is expected to require total semiconductor sales of over $4.2 billion to make the 2014 top 20 ranking. In total, the top 20 semiconductor companies’ sales are forecast to increase by 9 percent this year as compared to 2013. However, when excluding the two pure-play foundries (TSMC and UMC) from the ranking, the top “18” semiconductor companies’ sales are forecast to increase by 8 percent this year, the same rate as IC Insights’ current forecast for total 2014 worldwide semiconductor market growth.

 

Fig. 1

Outside of the top six spots, there are numerous changes expected within the 2014 top-20 semiconductor supplier ranking.  In fact, of the 14 companies ranked 7th through 20th, 10 of them are forecast to change positions in 2014 as compared with 2013 (with NXP expected to jump up two spots).

More details on the forecasted 2014 top 25 semiconductor suppliers will be provided in the November Update to The McClean Report.

Trans-Lux Corporation has released a new series of modular court side LED displays under its premier TL Vision brand. The units provide a high-performance LED display in a sturdy steel frame optimized for reduced weight to allow the systems to be easily stored, moved and set up.

“With a lightweight, modular design, these new innovative court side LED displays provide a high degree of versatility while increasing fan engagement, and facilitating sponsor-driven advertising revenues,” said J.M. Allain, President and CEO, Trans-Lux Corporation. “These new Court Side LED systems are the perfect extension of our TL Vision LED display solutions for sports venues, and ideally complement our comprehensive portfolio of FairPlay by Trans-Lux LED scoreboard solutions.”

TL Vision Court Side LED Displays are available in 8- and 10-foot configurations with either 6mm or 10mm pitches with pixel counts ranging from 64×224 pixels to 112×480 pixels depending on their length and pitch selection. To provide customers with even greater flexibility, each modular unit can be custom-ordered as a stand-alone scoreboard, TL Vision scoreboard, TL Vision display, rear-illuminated sign or non-illuminated sign. Multiple units can be connected end-to-end to create LED displays tailored to specific events.

Additional features of the new TL Vision court side LED displays include an adjustable display angle of 0, 3 or 6 degrees; six casters for even weight distribution and ease of mobility; and an internal cable tray to hide and protect cables and wires. Rather than requiring equipment to be stacked on the table top or within a separate rack unit, TL Vision court side LED Displays incorporate rack-mount space that is hidden from view to reduce clutter and protect equipment.

The folding table tops incorporated into the TL Vision court side LED Displays are designed to avoid damage during setup and maximize storage space. To provide safety the unit features padded tops and ends, which can be easily removed to access the cable tray or knobs for adjusting both display angle and alignment.

A number of professional and Division I college basketball teams have already implemented TL Vision Court Side LED Displays in their arenas.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), today announced that worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $87 billion during the third quarter of 2014, an increase of 5.7 percent over the previous quarter and a jump of 8 percent compared to the third quarter of 2013. Third quarter sales outperformed the latest World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) industry forecast. Global sales for the month of September 2014 reached $29 billion, 8 percent higher than the September 2013 total of $26.9 billion and 1.9 percent more than last month’s total of $28.5 billion. All monthly sales numbers are compiled by WSTS and represent a three-month moving average.

“Through the third quarter of 2014, global semiconductor sales remain strong and well ahead of last year’s pace,” said Brian Toohey, president and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association. “The industry has now posted seven consecutive months of sequential monthly growth, and year-to-year growth has been strong across nearly all semiconductor product categories, with DRAM and Analog leading the way.”

Regionally, sales were up compared to last month in the Americas (2.8 percent) and Asia Pacific (2.5 percent), but down slightly in Europe (-0.1 percent) and Japan (-1.3 percent). Compared to September 2013, sales increased in Asia Pacific (12 percent), Europe (7.9 percent) and the Americas (3.7 percent), but decreased in Japan (-3.7 percent). All four regional markets have posted better year-to-date sales through September than they did through the same point last year.

September 2014      
Billions      
Month-to-Month Sales      
Market Last Month Current Month % Change
Americas 5.60 5.76 2.8%
Europe 3.22 3.22 -0.1%
Japan 3.07 3.03 -1.3%
Asia Pacific 16.57 16.99 2.5%
Total 28.46 29.00 1.9%
       
Year-to-Year Sales      
Market Last Year Current Month % Change
Americas 5.55 5.76 3.7%
Europe 2.98 3.22 7.9%
Japan 3.15 3.03 -3.7%
Asia Pacific 15.17 16.99 12.0%
Total 26.85 29.00 8.0%
       
Three-Month-Moving Average Sales      
Market Apr/May/Jun Jul/Aug/Sep % Change
Americas 5.24 5.76 9.8%
Europe 3.19 3.22 0.9%
Japan 2.97 3.03 2.2%
Asia Pacific 16.04 16.99 5.9%
Total 27.44 29.00 5.7%