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ElectronicsWeekly
Europe has got its ‘man on the moon’ vision statement from the EC courtesy of vice president Neelie Kroes, says Malcolm Penn, CEO of Europe’s leading semiconductor analysts, Future Horizons.
Kroes said she wants to see European semiconductor producers regain a 20% world market share – out-producing the American suppliers.
ElectronicsWeekly
The semiconductor industry is becoming single-sourced as companies find it economically impossible to use multiple fabs for the same chip design, Malcolm Penn, CEO of Future Horizons, tells SEMI's ISS 2013 meeting in Stresa on Lake Maggiore today..
"Portability is no longer possible - even for the CPA - there is no chance at the mask or even at the OASIS level," says Penn, "the pre-DFM file shares the nearest commonality but that falls down at the SRAM level."
"Many ARM hard cores are specially tuned to each foundry," adds Penn, "DFM is already finely tuned and foundry dependent. If you still think SOCs are not single-sourced, ask Apple."TechDesignForum
Future Horizon’s forecast meeting for the first half of 2013 made it clear how electronics and the semiconductor industry in particular is facing big problems – and some of them are being exacerbated by the often adversarial rather than cooperative nature of the business. “I believe there are at least ten or twelve major issues that the semiconductor industry will have to address over the next decade and the current business model that the industry has will not solve them,” said Malcolm Penn, president and CEO of Future Horizons as he described the challenges facing an industry buffeted not just by economic headwinds but the accumulated pain of dealing with the end of classic Moore’s Law scaling.
ElectronicsWeekly
The semiconductor market will grow 7.9% this year, Malcolm Penn, CEO of Future Horizons, told IFS2013 in London this morning. However Penn added: "Last year I forecast 8% growth, and I said that was a safe bet and it turned out to be minus 2.4%." World events - the US fiscal mess, the Eurozone debt mess, the 'damp squibs' of Windows 8 and iPhone 5 all blighted the industry in 2012, said Penn For 2013, Penn expects a flat Q1, 2% growth in Q2, 8% growth in Q3 and a 2.1% decline in Q4.
New Electronics
The semiconductor industry has to address a number of fundamental issues in the near future, claims Malcolm Penn, pictured, chairman of market watcher Future Horizons. "The reason is the current model won't solve the problems it is facing," he said. Speaking at Future Horizon's 2013 Industry Forecast Seminar, Penn pointed to issues such as the 450mm transition, lithography and the rise of the foundry sector – and TSMC in particular.
TechEye.net
TSMC: 18 Inch Wafer Production To Start in 2018
TSMC has announced that it will begin volume production of chips using 18 inch (450mm) wafers in 2018.
J.K. Wang, vice president for operations at the mega foundry, said at a conference held by industry body SEMI in Taipei that the company is expecting to complete specification settings for 18 inch wafers in 2014 or 2015, with a view to setting up pilot lines in 2016 or 2017, according to The Taipei Times.
Assuming that each step goes to plan, Wang said that TSMC expects to then begin volume production in 2018, which would also coincide with plans to move to 10 nm process production with FinFET transistors at the same time
TechEye.net
GlobalFoundries has overtaken United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) as the second biggest contract chip maker for the second quarter of 2012, reports IC Insights.
GloFo managed increase sales by 18 percent, pushing the company past UMC to become the second biggest foundry in the world. It is also ranked as the 16th largest semiconductor supplier, worldwide, and the analyst house believes it may climb over Fujitsu for total 2012 sales to reach 15th.
Semi
A study commissioned by the European Commission on the impact of 450mm manufacturing concludes that not having a 450mm production infrastructure in Europe will “threaten the competitiveness of the current European SC manufacturing base, including technology development and device design.” The study prepared in partnership with industry analysis firm, Future Horizons, recommends the creation of a master plan that includes “both a strong industrial commitment and a coordinated position …to leverage the required funding, avoid duplication and concentrate the funding where needed.”
ElectronicsWeekly
A cheerful forecast for the semiconductor market comes from Semico who expect 6-8% growth for the year, making it the most optimisitic of the major forecasters.
IDC is forecasting 4.6%; IHS expects 4.3%; while Gartner and Future Horizons plump for 4% and IC Insights goes for 3%.
The SIA is forecasting a flat year which, according to Malcolm Penn, CEO of Future Horizons, is "totally and absolutely wrong, it's not going to be less than 4%."
TechEye.net
Intel’s prospective expansion at its Leixlip site could be paving the way for a move to 450mm production.
Intel is about to get the nod for expansion to its Kildare plant soon, though intended 14nm production is only said to be going ahead at 300mm.
Future Horizons analyst Mike Bryant says that it is likely that Ireland will see the creation of Intel’s third 450mm, though it is unclear when Intel will begin moving to the advanced production method
TechEye.net
IHS has constructed a report that shines light on Apple in a remarkably favourable way: it claims that Apple is solidifying its hegemony over the chip market, that it is a crucial company to the industry in the long term. Apple will "dramatically" outperform Samsung, soon, allowing it to be the world's top OEM semiconductor buyer. But, according to a top chip analyst, this is hokum.
ChannelBiz
Future Horizons is forecasting four percent growth for the semiconductor industry during 2012, revising its predictions down due to ongoing economic malaise.
At the Future Horizon Summit 2012 semi industry analyst Malcolm Penn indicated the likely growth in terms of shipments for the remainder of the year.
The total growth figure is estimated to be approximately four percent, which is a reduction on the expectation of around eight percent highlighted at the start of the year
EETimes
Anti-IMEC sentiment across Europe has been putting the continent's role in the transition of chip production to 450-mm diameter wafers at risk, according to Mike Bryant, analyst with Future Horizons Ltd. (Sevenoaks, England).
Already Europe's role is somewhat limited with inward investors Intel and GlobalFoundries as the only companies likely to make chips on 450-mm wafers in Europe, But ASML Holding NV (Veldhoven, The Netherlands) has become almost a monopoly supplier of lithography equipment for leading-edge production nodes and stands to benefit from the transition.
timesunion.com
If GlobalFoundries expands again in New York state beyond the $4.6 billion computer chip factory it has in Malta, it might do so by buying IBM's semiconductor business, which includes Big Blue's chip fab in East Fishkill.
Speculation has been swirling for several years as the two companies have forged one of the closest alliances in the industry, dating to the creation of GlobalFoundries in 2009.
NewElectronics
Malcolm Penn's substantial report considering whether Europe should dip its toes into the 450mm pond has now been published.
His conclusion is that the EC should stump up some $3billion to seed the construction of a European shared 450mm fab – and hence spawn industry collaboration
TechEye
A study commissioned by the European Commission has looked into the potential role of European authorities in encouraging the construction of a 450-mm wafer fab on the old continent.
The report, prepared by Future Horizons and Decision SA, tried to identify activities required to support research and innovation in semiconductor production in Europe. It found that semiconductor output in Europe could decline unless something is done to support development.
ElectronicsWeekly
LONDON – A report prepared for the European Commission just published discusses the potential role of European authorities in encouraging the creation of both a pilot 450-mm wafer fab to support Europe's chip equipment companies and a volume manufacturing 450-mm plant for a wide variety of More-than-Moore processes.
The report, entitled Benefits and measures to set up 450 mm semiconductor prototyping and to keep semiconductor manufacturing in Europe. The role of public authorities and programmes has been prepared between January 2011 and February 2012 by the consultancies Future Horizons Ltd. (Sevenoaks, England) and Decision SA (Paris, France).
ElectronicsWeekly
Executives and specialists from the electronics components market will meet in Milan on May 31 at the International Distribution of Electronics Association (IDEA) executive conference.
The main talking point will how can the supply chain maximise business opportuntities as governments around the world desperately seek to move the western economies from austerity to growth.
The conference starts with a review of the global economy and particularly the European economy presented by Paolo Guida, Head of Retail and SME Research at BancaIntesa Sanpaolo.
SmartGroup
2012 is the 21st anniversary of Armenia’s secession from the Soviet Union and also the 21st anniversary of the Future Horizons IEF.
The forum is being held at the Marriott Hotel in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan.
“ The forum will serve to provide guidance and discussion to really drive the foundry and semiconductor market progress as it continues its momentum out of this economic downturn,” says Future Horizons’ CEO malcolm Penn, “we have also ensured we are coinciding with the DigiTech Expo (5-7 October 2012) allowing us to offer delegates a pre- and post-forum Armenia experience.”
EETimes
LONDON – The International Electronics Forum is off to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia for its 21 st annual meeting. The meeting of C-level executives is set to take place at Yerevan Marriott Hotel from Oct. 3 to 5, 2012.
The forum is organized by Future Horizons Ltd. (Sevenoaks, England) and covers the electronics value chain from R&D to end markets and service providers.
TechWeekeurope
The massive earthquake and tsunami that tore through Japan on 11 March and rippled throughout the Pacific region could have significant short-term effects on the semiconductor industry, according to analysts.
Japan and Taiwan make up a huge amount of the global semiconductor manufacturing, and even the smallest amount of downtime could have a large impact on chip supply and prices, the analysts said in various reports.
TechEye.net
For a company that is supposedly under attack - with the PC market moving away from traditional desktops and towards tablets and smartphones - Intel is performing rather well.
In fact, the latest yearly semiconductor figures released by IHS show that the Santa Clara firm increased its lead in the market with a 20.6 percent revenue jump, accounting for its highest share in over ten years.
Last year, Chipzilla increased its overall semi market revenue share to 15.6 percent, an increase of 2.5 percent from 13.1 percent in 2010. This is even more than the 14.9 percent market revenue share way back in 2001 when Ultrabooks were just a twinkle in Intel’s eye.
IrishTimes.com
KEEPING EUROPE competitive was the recurring theme at a recent conference for the semiconductor industry in Munich, with a succession of speakers highlighting how the axis of the old industrial world continues to shift.
The decline of European manufacturing may be a familiar story, but new chapters are being written all the time and it’s not certain if there will be a happy ending
Malcolm Penn, a semiconductor industry analyst, talked about getting used to the new world order.
TeckWeekEurope
Industry experts highlighted the need for the channel to adapt to the growth of cloud computing, during the launch of channel-dedicated title ChannelBiz.
NetMediaEurope CEO Dominique Busso launched the new site in the Soho Hotel in the centre of London this morning to a crowd of industry figures, journalists and PRs.
The channel must adapt. At the event Mike Magee, Editor in Chief of ChannelBiz, and editor of TechEye. highlighted the need for the channel to modernise itself in order to adapt to major changes.
NewElectronics
The first chips manufactured on 450mm wafers will begin to roll out from a handful of fabs within the next few years.
The move, being made by companies like Intel and TSMC, is the next step in the industry's pursuit of Moore's Law. In following Moore's prediction that the number of transistors on a given area of silicon would double every 18 months, these companies are subscribing to a school of thought which has become known as 'More Moore'.
IRISHTIMES.com
THE TRANSITION to next-generation semiconductor manufacturing will be a tipping point for Europe, according to a new study by the EU commission, which is calling for a collective EU strategy to ensure 450mm silicon wafer fabrication comes to the continent.
Willy Van Puymbroek, head of the nano electronic unit in the European Commission, told a trade conference in Munich that national strategies won’t work because of the high costs involved in setting up a 450mm facility. Analyst Malcolm Penn, from Future Horizons, warned that Europe has to build on its leadership of materials and equipment to make sure it’s in the race. “If Europe doesn’t embrace 450mm, then it’s history,” he said.
ElectronicsWeekly.com
Intel is to stop supplying sales data to the WSTS. Last year AMD left the WSTS.
With Intel leaving WSTS, and other companies likely to follow, then, without reliable sales statistics, estimates of semiconductor market size and estimates of product markets will be guesswork.
“It will be pure conjecture,” says Malcolm Penn, CEO of analysts Future Horizons, “everything will be built on guesswork.
ZDNetUK
Intel confirmed to ZDNet UK on Thursday that "there have been other agreements" besides its 22nm fabbing relationships with Tabula and Achronix Semiconductor. However, it declined to give more details.
H-Online.com
Intel plays the musical chairs game, the IT industry celebrates lots of record quarters, only AMD disappoints. Things are uncertain around Globalfoundries and numerous Bryants draw attention.
ElectronicsWeekly.com
It seems a bit rich for a company proposing to spend $12.5 billion on capex this year to be asking other companies, and government institutions, for help in developing a technology which will, mostly, benefit that one company.
The company which, more than anyone else, has pushed for 450mm, is Intel, and Intel recently announced a 2012 capex budget of $12.5 billion.
That's about half the estimated cost of the 450mm transition.
The EU is thinking of backing 450mm development, and Future Horizons has done a report for the EU on whether this is a worthwhile thing to do.
TechEYE.net
Doom and gloom may be prevailing through much of the world, but there is hope that the semiconductor industry could see a good bounce back this year, according to Future Horizons CEO Malcolm Penn.At IFS 2012, a peer into what the semi industry has to offer, Penn’s energetic outlook defied industry pessimism.
It may be true that the world has been through another traumatic upheaval, but there is plenty of scope for the chip industry to rebound in a big way this year, with the question more ‘when’ rather than ‘if’, he reckons.
EETimes
Mike Bryant, technology analyst with Future Horizons Ltd. has said that foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. is in trouble with its 28-nm manufacturing process technologies, which are not yet yielding well. Bryant referenced un-named contacts made with multiple companies waiting for designs to be produced by TSMC on 28-nm processes.
EETimes.com
Malcolm Penn, founder and chief analyst with semiconductor market analysis firm Future Horizons Ltd., has predicted that the global chip market will rise on an annual basis by 8 percent to $323.2 billion in 2012. Penn said that after a flat first quarter he expected the chip market to bounce back in the second half of the year.
ElectronicsWeekly.com
TSMC CEO Morris Chang reckons the semiconductor industry will grow 2% this year.
In a flat year for the overall industry last year, the foundry industry grew 4% said Chang.
In 2012, he added, foundry business will grow more than the overall industry and TSMC will grow more than the foundry industry.
ElectronicsWeekly.com
American semiconductor companies are exporting their brains, says the author of the Innovators Dilemma, Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen.
There’s only one exception – Intel, says Christensen.
Outsourcing fab is one of the ways US chip-makers are handing over a vital technological competitive differentiator, argues Christensen.
SmartGroup
Intel is ahead of the semiconductor industry in process technology but by how much? Ed McKernan at SemiWiki writes: “They (Intel) believe they just need to get to 14nm production with finfets in 2014 and then they will be all alone with a 4-year process lead.”
And Malcolm Penn, CEO of Europe’s leading semiconductor analysts company, Future Horizons, says: “TSMC are still lagging Intel by a couple of years.”However Intel’s process plans have not been totally smooth.“Intel was supposed to have 22nm at the end of this year or Q1 2012. Now this has been moved forward to sometime in 2012,” says statistical variability expert Professor Asen Asenov of GlasgowUniversity and CEOof Gold Standard Simulations (GSS).
TechEye.Net
Chipzilla boffins have emerged from their smoke filled labs claiming to have created another monster and defied God and common decency by making a 14nm IC.
Managing director for northern Europe Pat Bliemer told Nordic Hardware, that Intel has cracked the 14nm process producing ICs in its laboratories.
While this is a long way off from ever turning up under the bonnet of a gadget you might own, it does indicate that Intel is closer to the successor process generation to 22nm.
News.am
Executive director and head of Future Horizons Company Malcolm Penn is in Armenia on working visit.
He intends to observe and evaluate the perspective of holding IEF 2012 international conference in Yerevan.
Tech.Eye.net
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company boss Morris Chang has called on the Taiwanese government to show his firm a bit more support.
While he said that he wasn’t on the lookout for any handouts or having a pop at authorities, it appears that the chairman of one of the world’s biggest semiconductor firms is looking for a bit of recognition
XBitLabs
For several years now, 450mm wafer processing has been under discussion, but apart from work on setting standards, little has actually emerged. Much discussion focused on whether the industry could actually afford to make this transition and whether it actually needs it. With the joint efforts of leading semiconductor manufactures as well as some support from governmental organizations, the transition of 450mm semiconductor wafers now looks inevitable.
EETimes
SEVILLE, Spain – Malcolm Penn, founder and principal analyst with market analysis company Future Horizons (Sevenoaks, England), now sees 2011 as essentially a flat year compared with 2010 for the global chip market.
Penn, organizer of the International Electronics Forum being held here, who had given a forecast at the beginning of the year of around 9 percent, told the audience that the market had been knocked off course by a series of factors.
TechEye.Net
As we reported earlier this week, we reported how chief analyst at Future Horizons, Malcolm Penn, predicted there's a chance the chip market might grow just one percent this year. Not good news, then, that IHS says inventory levels are at a height we haven't seen since the beginning of the recession in 2008.
Electronics Weekly
Leading edge capacity will never again be a commodity. Recent trends are making manufacturing more valuable and scarce, according to Future Horizons whose IEF 2011 conference in Seville started this morning.
The trend to go fabless at 65nm, the trend to $3bn fabs reducing the number of IDMs and foundries which can afford them, the trend for capacity to lag demand rather than lead it, and the trend to 450mm, are combining to make leading edge capacity limited, expensive and tight.
EBNOnline
The move to 450mm semiconductor wafer size will inevitably be an inflection point for the industry, with enormous ramifications for the complete semiconductor ecosystem. Those firms with 450mm capability will enjoy a huge competitive advantage of staying on the More Moore node development roadmap, a potential 30 percent lower die cost advantage, and a more efficient manufacturing tool platform. The remaining 300mm platforms will be squeezed into increasingly overcrowded niches.
EETimes
The era of abundant leading-edge capacity is over, according to Future Horizons, the trends of the last decade are making manufacturing more and more valuable and more scarce.EETimes
The International Electronics Forum is set to take place next month, Oct. 5 to 7, in Seville, Spain. The program includes presentations from a dozen senior executives drawn from companies in the fields of manufacturing, design and fabbed and fabless chip supply
TechEye.net
Chip manufacturer TSMC has admitted that its strong growth targets look unlikely and out of reach because, of course, the market demand isn't quite what it expected.
However, its CEO Morris Chang still believes it will outclass the industry average elsewhere for 2011 as a whole. Originally it wanted to hit 20 percent growth in sales. Digitimes believes TSMC knew what was up in the second quarter when it saw utilisation rates drop, and that its targets were too ambitious
EETimes
The International Electronics Forum is set to take place next month, Oct. 5 to 7, in Seville, Spain. The program includes presentations from a dozen senior executives drawn from companies in the fields of manufacturing, design and fabbed and fabless chip supply.
ElectronicsWeekly.com
Analyst IDC has lowered its forecast for semiconductor sales revenue growth to 5% for this year, in the same week that Future Horizons lowered its growth forecast to 4%
Gartner Dataquest is projecting 5% while iSuppli is saying 7%.
Growth applications markets are tablets and e-readers, said IDC, declining applications are DVDs and games consoles
ElectronicsWeekly.com
Intel has a two year lead in process technology over the rest of the semiconductor industry and could get further ahead if yields are satisfactory on its finfet-based 22nm process due for introduction later this year.
So said Mike Bryant, CTO of Future Horizons, at the recent IFS 2011 conference in London.
ZDNet
The Taiwanese company, the fourth-largest chip manufacturer by semiconductor sales, has already begun a production test run of the next-generation A6 chips expected to be used in Apple's mobile devices, Reuters reported on Friday.
ElectronicsWeekly.com
Every country in the world will want to have the first 450mm fab, it was stated at IFS 2011 in London this morning.
"Every country in the world will want it," said Malcolm Penn, CEO of Future Horizons, "where the first 450mm fab is located is going to be such an interesting decision – it will be loaded with politics."
TechEYE.com
Samsung will look to stay ahead of its rivals with the opening of a new NAND memory chip facility.
Just as Toshiba announced that it would be making its own NAND fab with partner SanDisk, Samsung will be staying one step ahead with the opening of its own facility this September.
ElectronicsWeekly.com
Future Horizons downgraded its forecast for 2011 semiconductor growth to 4% this morning.A flattish Q1 and Q2 is expected to be followed by 4% growth in Q3 and 1.5% growth in Q4."Q1 was better than expected – then came the earthquake," said Future Horizons’ CEO Malcolm Penn, "the memory pricing uncertainty wild card has kicked in."
TechEYE.com
Elpida is taking a gamble in selling its stocks. Some claim that the latest announcement means there will be too many shares in the market, while others are concerned that now is not the right time for brokers to buy.
EBNMarket analysts are already hammering semiconductor companies that are carrying high levels of inventory, meaning the "new normal" -- buffering stock against disasters such as the Japan earthquake -- is already being challenged.
ElectronicsWeekly.com
According to the Dow Jones news agency, the new boss of Samsung Electronics reckons the semiconductor market will be weak in the second half of the year. Normally Q3 is the best quarter of the year and Q4 is relatively strong making the second half traditionally stronger than the first half.
New Electronics
When Gordon Moore developed his eponymous law, he focused only on the number of transistors that could be accommodated on a given area of silicon; the size of the wafers on which devices were fabricated was not a contributory factor.
But as feature sizes have shrunk from a handful of microns to a handful of nanometres, the wafers on which devices are created have grown in diameter. Today, mainstream semiconductor manufacture is based on 300mm wafers. Now, TSMC, Intel and Samsung have announced they're ready to move production to 450mm diameter wafers.
ElectronicsWeekly.com
TSMC is expecting 20% growth this year, said CEO Morris Chang earlier today, while he expects the overall foundry industry to grow 12%, and the overall semiconductor industry to grow only 5%.
That’s in contrast to leading analysts with IC Insights forecasting double digit overall growth for the semiconductor market and Future Horizons forecasting 9% with the proviso “ it could very easily go to double digits."
University Of Surrey
A high-level conference of experts in electronics, photonics and electrical systems will be held at the University of Surrey to examine ways to foster better relationships between industry and academia and to help speed up the use of innovative technology into markets.
ICT and Electronics
This year's early bird rate will finish this Friday, 3rd June so register now to take advantage of it! Table tops are also going fast so don't forget to book yours now to avoid the disappointment of not getting the spot you want for your company!
ElectronicsWeekly.comThe EC is not interested in backing 450mm development in the immediate future, it was said at the 5th SEMI Brussels Forum this morning.Rob Hartman director of the strategic technology programme at ASML stated that 450mm is something that would happen in the next five years and that "We need to get a large manufacturing facility in Europe supported by the EC."TechEYE.net
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) won't be lowering prices any time soon. Instead it will capitalise on its leading position and will dictate how the market operates.
There were reports in Taiwan's Economic Daily suggesting the company has been in talks with clients to lower prices by three to five percent in the third quarter
ElectronicsWeekly.com
Icera Semiconductor, the nine year-old Bristol soft modem company, has been sold to Nvidia for $367m – returning a $100m profit to its VC backers who have put up $250m in equity plus $12m in debt funding raised from Silicon Valley Bank in January.
Icera had always said it was intending to become a major independent player. For many years it talked about a $1bn IPO. The sale to Nvidia will be seen as a failure of expectations
Tech.EYE.netShortages of components in a range of markets are continuing to hit production levels following the after effects of the tragic Japanese crisis.
EBN
While LED lighting is still far from the mainstream, early solid-state lighting products are starting to appear on the market in a variety of form factors and designs. At this stage, it's too early to envisage how LEDs will develop, and what features and applications will prove attractive to consumers, over the coming years. Let's take a look at the current state of play.
The 48-inch LED T8-sized tube light is an interesting example. While it is not intended as a drop-in replacement for the traditional fluorescent tube, which needs a fixture with a ballast unit, the product is targeted at fluorescent tube light markets
EBN
At the corporate level, the disruption to manufacturing worldwide caused by the Japan earthquake and tsunami on March 11 will force a rethink of how companies manage their production in the food chain, and especially in chip manufacturing.What if a force-9 earthquake and tsunami hit Taiwan? The 60 percent combined share Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) (NYSE: TSM) and United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) (NYSE: UMC) have in the foundry business would affect every IC firm. It would be akin to Mitsubishi Gas Chemical's and Hitachi Chemical's joint 90 percent control of the specialty resin market.
TechEYE.Net
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) has confirmed that pilot production of its 20 nanometer process will begin in the second half of 2012.ZDNET
Semiconductor revenue across the world rose 30.9 percent in 2010 compared with the previous year a sign of a broad demand-driven economic recovery, according to Gartner
In total, semiconductor revenue for 2010 reached $299.4bn (£183.7bn), up $70.7bn on 2009's figures, the market research firm said in a report released on Monday. The figure marks the largest dollar increase in any one year for the industry, which manufactures the materials that underpin all sophisticated electronics — from laptops to cars to smart bombs.
EBN
In the first part of this article, I suggested that the Japan earthquake could be the catalyst the electronics industry needs to overhaul and improve its supply chain. (See: Tech Needs a Healthier Supply Chain, Part 1.) In this second and concluding part, I will look at how the industry arrived at its current situation -- and why major steps must be taken to improve it.
ElectronSpecifier
It was all going so well at the beginning of March, says Future Horizons Chairman & CEO Malcolm Penn, when January's WSTS results were released. The oil and North African issues were being taken in their stride. Then, less than two weeks later, the earthquake and tsunami disaster struck Japan and by the close of the month, the Gaddafi Libyan regime was under western international air strike siege.
MarketWatch
The repercussions of Japan’s devastating earthquake, much like an aftershock, will be felt on the European technology sector long after the initial jolt has faded. Japan’s importance to the global economy may have waned over the past decade, but the country still plays a prominent role in the technology industry, supplying a wide range of components and specialty chemicals used in the batteries and chips that power smartphones and other gadgets.
EBN
Some natural disasters change history. The tragic March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan may well turn out to be one of them. With luck, a much healthier and more soundly based electronics industry supply chain will emerge. We have long voiced concern over what we saw as the industry's offhandedness towards its business practices whereby, with ever increasing momentum, common sense and sound practice were being progressively cast aside for the sake of near-term profits or "increased shareholder value
edublogs
FWA standard WiMAX is standing the pressure of competition from other many kinds of broadband technology, and the pressure of this kind of competition is also in rising continuously, the operator that has even disposed WiMAX recently begins to suspect the final victor who can become this field oneself.
EBN
The electronics industry is trying to recover from the effects of the Japan earthquake, but this will not be as easy as it sounds. For a start, the supply chain was already maxed out before the disaster, so even if a firm wanted to place an order elsewhere there is little spare capacity to service these new requirements.
- IC Supply Will Be Affected By The Japan Earthquake In A Series Of Four Stages, Says Future Horizons.
Electronics Weekly.com
Stage one - the immediate few days – will see some minor disruptions due to logistic-related issues but otherwise ‘business as usual’; there is sufficient inventory in the supply chain to keep the processes rolling, other than maybe the NAND Flash memory spot market (30% of the whole) where some price hikes are inevitable and unavoidable
TechEYE
The beginning of March was ticking along nicely and figures for the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) were doing the same until the tragedy in Japan.
IPOsgoode
Almost a month after the disaster in Japan, dire effects are still emerging. Global companies, including Sony, Apple Inc., and Nokia, are facing a supply shortage in parts and components, thus causing major disruption to their supply chains.
EBN
The chip industry took March's one-two-three knocks with remarkable calm. First, it was hit by the spike in oil prices following the political unrest and near civil wars in North Africa, then the dreadful March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and finally the multi-state coalition military intervention in Libya to implement the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973.
Reuters
Global semiconductor sales are likely to grow by 7 percent to $325 billion (199 billion pounds) this year, as last month's earthquake in Japan boosted prices of computer memory chips. IHS iSuppli raised its forecast for global chip revenue for 2011 to $325.2 billion. In February it forecast a 5.8 percent increase to $320.1 billion.
TechEye.com
The beginning of March was ticking along nicely and figures for the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) were doing the same until the tragedy in Japan. That's according to chip analysts at Future Horizons, who say that despite the weakening in the industry as a result of the Lehman Brothers crisis, the sector had "weathered" the oil and Africa upheavals and the Libyan problems.
- Future Horizons In The Press 2011
Below you will find semiconductor news and articles featuring Future Horizons' CEO Malcolm Penn, giving his expert opinion on the semiconductor industry. For further semiconductor news and Future Horizons updates follow Malcolm on Twitter.
TechEYE.net
Lenovo has become the latest to warn of supply problems following the tragedy in Japan, with reports emerging that it is worrying about shipments of its tablet computer, LePad. A company executive told the WSJ the news as Lenovo started flogging its anticipated iPad rival LePad in China. It says the tablet may leave its Chinese stomping ground for worldwide sales by June.
Semiconductor Manufacturing & Design
Journalists are trained to not make assumptions. But it is hard not to. A few years ago, many of us routinely accepted the idea that the semiconductor industry is a “commodity industry” that had reached a “mature” phase.
GCN
Japan’s recent environmental disasters – a large-scale earthquake and ensuing tsunami, followed by concerns over nuclear plant meltdowns – are causing electronics shortages and increased prices on components such as chips, flat-panel displays and other components for computers, cameras and tablet PCs
EBN Online
There is more of a sense of urgency in the electronics supply chain as the industry enters the second week following the March 11 earthquake. The ongoing uncertainty over factories' ability to operate with rolling blackouts is fuelling fears that the quake is not merely a short-term disruption in the supply chain.
TechEYE.net
Reports that faulty Intel chipsets have markedly slowed down the PC supply chain have been dismissed by an analyst familiar with the situation
China Fund
SHANGHAI — Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (NYSE: SMI; SEHK: 981) (SMIC or the Company) one of the leading semiconductor foundries in the world today announced its consolidated results of operations for the three months ended December 31 2010.
EBN Online
Perhaps the inventory uptick in the semiconductor market noticed by researcher IHS iSuppli in the fourth quarter was not an anomaly. (See: Global semiconductor levels surge .) It seems chip vendors, wary of being caught unprepared in the event of a second half 2011 demand upswing, have been actively building inventories. That was my conclusion after listening to a 30-minute presentation by Ron Slaymaker, the head of investor relations at Texas Instruments Inc.Perhaps the inventory uptick in the semiconductor market noticed by researcher IHS iSuppli in the fourth quarter was not an anomaly. (See: Global semiconductor levels surge .) It seems chip vendors, wary of being caught unprepared in the event of a second half 2011 demand upswing, have been actively building inventories. That was my conclusion after listening to a 30-minute presentation by Ron Slaymaker, the head of investor relations at Texas Instruments Inc
EIPC SPEeNEWS
Interviewed on BBC Breakfast on Friday 18th March, Malcolm Penn CEO of Future Horizons, explained that the Japanese earthquake and tsunami will have a severe impact on the supply chain of electronic equipment. 60% of silicon wafers used in flash memory, cameras, computers etc come from Japan, and this impact will be felt within the next three months at a time when the consumer electronics industry in particular will be ramping up to meet seasonal demand. Asked if there are other manufacturers who could ‘take up the slack’ Malcolm said that this was not possible, there are no companies able to fill the gap, the shortage will invariably bring further price increases by the end of the year, with some chip prices already up by 20%.
Hu-Tui.Com
#Whom the 9.0 earthquake attack whether the intersection of Japanese and semiconductor produce important strategic place, follow-up influences for the industry focus. The British semiconductor grinds and transfers the organization Future Horizons to grind and transfer the organization for the most authoritative semiconductor of Europe. The executive chairman Malcolm Penn of this organization shows on the 11th, the crystal plate produces the big factory and is not perhaps struck by the earthquake directly, the products produced are completely unable to use outage but look like, will lose the output of one day at least, look with the situation that the stock is extremely pressing at present, make the supplier in disarray immediately. According to the statistics of this organization, Japan accounts for about 24% of global semi-conductive output value, Taiwan is 30%.
ADVFN.com
Technology companies Friday were assessing the impact of the Japanese earthquake on component supplies and on their local plants, staff and sub-contractors, with no one reporting any serious damage or impact so far.
Supply Chain Matters
As we pen our second commentary, it has been just 24 hours since the devastating earthquake and consequent tsunami have impacted northern Japan. Our hearts and prayers go out to all of people and associated families in Japan that have been forever impacted by this tragic event
eWeek.com
Any disruption could be significant, the firm wrote. While Japan has a strong share of the world's DRAM manufacturing market, the two top DRAM fabs in the country, run by U.S. based-Micron and Japan's Elpida, have not been directly impacted, the firm said.
Electronics Weekly
Just how bad is going to be the effect of the Asian earthquake and tsunami on the semiconductor industry? Europe ’s leading semiconductor analyst, Malcolm Penn, CEO of Future Horizons, spells out the potential disaster scenario for the industry.