Wafer shipments drop for first time since 2001 - The Fab Line - Semiconductor Equipment and Materials international report - Industry Trend or Event - Brief Article

Electronic News, Nov 11, 2002

AFTER THREE STRAIGHT QUARTERS OF SEQUENTIAL improvements beginning with Q4 2001, silicon wafer area shipments dropped slightly in Q3, according to Semiconductor Equipment and Materials international (SEMI). Total silicon wafer area shipments were 1.26 billion square inches during the most recent quarter, nearly flat with the 1.27 billion square inches shipped during the previous quarter, SEMI reported.

This includes worldwide polished silicon wafers, including virgin test wafers, epitaxial silicon wafers and non-polished silicon wafers shipped by the wafer manufacturers to end-users. The Q3 number represents a 53 percent improvement year-over-year but is 13 percent below the peak of 1.42 billion square inches shipped in Q3 2000. Shipments have been increasing since Q4 of last year, when the industry shipped 878 million square inches, a 7 percent sequential improvement. That was followed by a 15 percent improvement in Q1 to 1 billion square inches. Q2 wafer shipments increased some 26 percent quarter- over-qua rter and 29 percent year-over-year. There were some concerns at the time that wafer producers would not be able to keep up if demand continued to grow, and although demand has softened, the concern is not entirely moot.