Shipments of silicon wafers drops 21% in Q2 from previous quarter, says SEMI

Shipments of silicon wafers drops 21% in Q2 from previous quarter, says SEMI
SAN JOSE -- Worldwide shipments of blank silicon wafer substrates for chip production fell 21% in the second quarter compared to unit volumes in Q1 as IC makers cut back on fabrication of products, said a new report from the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) trade group here.

SEMI's quarterly wafer usage report, released late Monday evening, shows shipments of blank silicon wafers dropping to 988 million square inches of material compared to 1.25 billion square inches in the first quarter of 2001. SEMI said second-quarter shipments of silicon substrates fell 28% from 1.373 billion square inches in the same period last year.

"Silicon demand has nose-dived this year, causing the silicon suppliers to implement cost-cutting in the form of layoffs or frequent plant shut-downs," warned Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "Virtually all 200-mm investment plans have been put on hold," Myers said. "The market will eventually improve, but the question remains as to how quickly silicon suppliers could respond to a demand increase."

"Furthermore, the current economic challenges threaten the industry's ability to provide next-generation 300-mm diameter products in quantity and quality as required by the market," added the chief executive officer of the San Jose-based trade group.

According to SEMI, worldwide shipments for polished wafers were 732 million square inches in the second quarter of 2001. This compares to 1.026 billion square inches in Q2 of 2000 and 932 million in Q1 of this year, SEMI said.

Epitaxial wafer shipments were 207 million square inches in the second quarter of this year, compared to 278 million in Q2 of 2000 and 264 million in the first three months of this year, according to SEMI.

Non-polished wafer shipments were 49 million square inches in the second period, SEMI said. This compares to 69 million square inches in the second quarter of 2001 and 63 million in Q1 of 2001, according to the SEMI report.