News Article
Semiconductor photomask market slowed In 2006, stronger in 2007
After posting two consecutive years of strong growth, the semiconductor photomask market slowed in 2006, according to the report: Mask Making, Inspection, and Repair: Market Analysis and Strategic Issues, recently published by The Information Network.
After posting two consecutive years of strong growth, the semiconductor photomask market slowed in 2006, according to the report: Mask Making, Inspection, and Repair: Market Analysis and Strategic Issues, recently published by The Information Network.
After recording strong gains of 17.9% in 2004 and 7.8% in 2005, the merchant market grew only 5.4% in 2006, reaching sales of $2.2 billion.
“Demand for photomasks is directly a function of design activity rather than sales volume from products using photomasks. Therefore, an increase in the semiconductor market does not necessarily translate to an increase in photomask sales,” said Dr. Robert Castellano, President of The Information Network.
For 2006, more than 50% of the largest CapEx spenders were directed at memory production expansions, and first and second tier memory vendors aggressively expanded capacity in 2006. These changes in the mix of semiconductors towards memory affected the type and quantity of photomasks utilized. Since DRAM masks are used for a relatively large number of wafers, we witnessed a reduction in the amount of photomasks manufactured in 2006.
In 2006, Toppan led the worldwide merchant market with a 40.4% share. DNP followed with a 32.9% share. Compugraphics led the merchant market in percentage growth, recording a growth rate of 14%, compared to 6% for Toppan and 9% for DNP. U.S.-based Photronics had a growth rate of -2%.
The Japanese and Asian markets each grew 10% on a revenue basis in 2006 to 77% of the worldwide market, while North America dropped 9% to $307 million.
For 2007, we expect the memory market to tank, growing only 2% compared to 21% in 2006. Logic, which demands more masks and at a higher price, will grow nearly 7% in 2007, which will translate to a revenue increase of 8% for masks.
