Silicon Wafer shipments drop
Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments decreased by six percent in 2008 when compared to 2007 area shipments according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) in its year-end analysis of the silicon wafer industry. Revenues also declined by 6 percent in 2008 compared to 2007.
Silicon wafer area shipments in 2008 totalled 8,137 million square inches (MSI), down from the 8,661 million square inches shipped during 2007. Revenues fell to $11.4 billion from $12.1 billion posted in 2007.
"Despite starting out the year strong, silicon shipments did not exceed levels seen in 2007,” said Nobuo Katsuoka, chairman of SEMI SMG and director, SOI process Engineering Department for Shin-Etsu Handotai Co., Ltd. ”The semiconductor market was not immune to the economic turmoil caused by the global financial crisis.”
Annual Silicon* Industry Trends
Worldwide Silicon | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008
| | | | | |
Data | | | | | |
-----------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+--------+--------
Area Shipments (MSI) | 5,149 | 6,262 | 6,645 | 7,996 | 8,661 | 8,137
-----------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+--------+--------
Revenues ($B) | 5.8 | 7.3 | 7.9 | 10.0 | 12.1 | 11.4
* Silicon for semiconductor applications
Silicon wafers are the fundamental building material for semiconductors, which in turn, are vital components of virtually all electronics goods, including computers, telecommunications products, and consumer electronics. The highly engineered thin round disks are produced in various diameters (from one inch to 12 inches) and serve as the substrate material on which most semiconductor devices or "chips" are fabricated. All data cited in this release is inclusive of polished silicon wafers, including virgin test wafers, epitaxial silicon wafers, and non-polished silicon wafers shipped by the wafer manufacturers to the end-users.
The Silicon Manufacturers Group acts as an independent special interest group within the SEMI structure and is open to SEMI members involved in manufacturing polycrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon or silicon wafers (e.g., as cut, polished, epi, etc.). The purpose of the group is to facilitate collective efforts on issues related to the silicon industry including the development of market information and statistics about the silicon industry and the semiconductor market.
