Silicon wafer revenues
Gartner Inc has reported that worldwide silicon wafer revenue has expanded from $10.2bn to $12.5bn, a 22.5% increase from 2006 to 2007. Takashi Ogawa, research VP for Gartner's Semiconductor Manufacturing Research Group, said that the increase was due to two factors: first, the continued rise in demand for 300mm wafers, which commanded a price premium; second, the general benefit of high wafer prices, partly caused by a shortage of polysilico
"In contrast to 300mm wafer demand, the 200mm segment - in which shipments reached a high in 2006 -- showed clear signs of deceleration during and after the second quarter. Shipments fell to 5.4m wafers per month in the fourth quarter," Ogawa said.
The no.1 vendor in worldwide silicon and epitaxial wafers in 2007 was Shin-Etsu Handotai, as its revenue grew 23.8% to exceed $4 billion. The company continued to experience growth in sales of its flagship product, a 300mm wafer, and a high percentage of premium-priced sales greatly contributed to the high growth.
Sumco, in second place, accounted for 21.7% of worldwide silicon and epitaxial wafer manufacturing revenue. It plans to increase the overall 300mm wafer capacity of the Sumco Group, which includes Sumco Techxiv, to 1,660,000 wafers per month by the end of March 2010. 300mm silicon Courtesy Shin-Etsu Handotai
Siltronic rounded out the top 3 rankings with its market share reaching 14.8%. The company is also expanding its 300mm wafer business. Sales in South Korea and Taiwan contributed to the company's increased market share in 2007.
The Asia-Pacific region experienced revenue growth of 40.3% in 2007. China and South Korea recorded revenue growth of 44.3% and 52.3%, respectively. Taiwan's market also grew strongly, by 29.7%, while the rest of Asia-Pacific registered an increase of 30.7%.
Other regions such as the Americas, Japan, and Europe, recorded fairly modest performances with revenue growth rates of approximately 10%.
Source:http://www.gartner.com