Semiconductor Wafer Demand Declined 4.5% in 2019, says Semico Research

Semiconductor sales improved in the second half of 2019 as expected but not enough to counteract the severe drop that occurred in the first half. Although dollar and unit sales declined for the year, both memory and logic showed signs of improvement in the second half.  A new report from Semico Research, Semico Wafer Demand Q4 2019 Highlights (MA113-19), states that although total units in 2019 declined, there were more product categories that actually showed some improvement than expected, moving semiconductor wafer demand to only a 4.5% decline in 2019 on reduced unit sales of -7.4%.
 
"The Semico Wafer Demand Model incorporates the transition to the 7nm logic process. TSMC and Samsung began volume production of 7nm products and increased production in 2019 along with the adoption of EUV. Both Samsung and TSMC have also announced a 6nm process technology that Semico includes in the 7nm technology breakout," says Joanne Itow, Manager of Semico's Manufacturing Research.  "On the other side of the technology spectrum, mature processes for sensor and optoelectronic products continue to be in high demand aided by growth in Internet of Things (IoT) applications along with more 'smart devices' that are beginning to build in algorithms that are the precursor to full-fledged AI functionality."
 
Additional key findings include:

• Basic principles of commodity pricing finally kicked in for DRAM during Q3 2019 when ASPs dropped 16% compared to Q2 2019.
• In 2019, Computer and Peripheral MOS Logic units were forecast to increase almost 1%.
• Sensor wafer volumes were expected to grow 6.2% in 2019.
• Optoelectronic revenues were expected to grow almost 10% in 2019 reaching almost $42 billion.

Semico Research's report, Semico Wafer Demand Q4 2019 Highlights (MA113-19), includes an Excel spreadsheet which provides wafer demand by 18 product categories and 14 technology nodes over a 13-year time frame from 2010 to 2022. There is also a summary write-up which provides insight into the recent trends for key semiconductor product categories.

For pricing and additional information, please contact:
Rick Vogelei
Business Development
Phone: 480-435-8564
Email: rickv@semico.com
 
About Semico
Semico is a semiconductor marketing & consulting research company located in Phoenix, Arizona.  We offer custom consulting, portfolio packages, individual market research studies and premier industry conferences.