Foundry Revenue to Grow Nearly 40 Percent This Year
El Segundo, Calif., May 11, 2010—After a year that was decidedly skewed by macroeconomic forces impacting the entire electronics value chain, pure-play foundry suppliers will see revenues in 2010 jump by 39.5 percent, according to iSuppli Corp.
Total pure-play foundry revenue in 2010 will reach $24.8 billion, up from $17.8 billion in 2009. This year’s projected revenue also is up 24.6 percent from 2008 levels of $19.9 billion. By 2013, iSuppli forecasts foundry revenue will reach $35.9 billion with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.5 percent.
The attached figure presents iSuppli’s forecast of worldwide pure-play foundry revenue for the period of 2001 through 2013.
“Lured by innovative new features and a renewed economy, worldwide consumers again are purchasing electronic products,” said Len Jelinek, director and chief analyst for semiconductor manufacturing at iSuppli. “Unless conditions deteriorate once more, previously pent-up need for new consumer products will fuel foundry demand, iSuppli believes.”
Leading foundry manufacturers are ready to meet this demand from the consumer and wireless markets, having developed process technology capable of supporting such growth. As a result, revenue expansion in the foundry business will outperform that of the semiconductor industry in 2010. Growth won’t be limited to the leading foundry vendors but will also extend to specialty foundries, which stand to reap benefits as their niche products that are associated with new designs position them for impressive growth.
Gains for Global
GlobalFoundries Inc. in 2009 purchased Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd., a move that will create a new No. 2 player in the pure-play foundry market by the end of 2010, iSuppli believes.
With the merger complete, GlobalFoundries will focus on providing technology to the market. Because of its association with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), technology from GlobalFoundries can be found at some of the most advanced manufacturing nodes available in the foundry space. And as the company brings its technology to the clients of Chartered and the rest of the global fabless market, iSuppli predicts a significant gain in market share for GlobalFoundries in 2010.
New deals coming
The acquisition of Chartered by GlobalFoundries marks just the beginning of the buying season among foundries. iSuppli sees a number of new deals occurring in 2010, some of which already have been announced—including the agreement between United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) and He Jian Technology Co. Ltd.
iSuppli also sees several Tier 2 foundries examining the need to expand capacity: with many Integrated Device Manufacturers (IDMs) looking to offload manufacturing facilities in order to cut costs, many buyers could end up waiting for product.
Such developments are sure to result in a dramatic reshaping of the foundry industry in 2010 and beyond.
Learn more about the foundry future with Jelinek’s new report, entitled Balancing Supply and Demand Provides Forceful Challenge to Foundry Suppliers.
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