Material competition
Semiconductor chemicals and materials market leaders continue to holding onto razor thin leadership positions, and exchange rates can play a big part, according to the report "Chemicals and Materials for Sub-100 nm IC Manufacturing," recently published by The Information Network.
"Market share differences between the top two leaders in four major chemical and material sectors is less than 3.4%," noted Dr. Robert N. Castellano, president of The Information Network. "In three out of the four sectors, the top leaders are in different countries, so that swings in exchange rates will readily tip the scale. Coincidently a strong dollar will make U.S. goods more expensive to foreign purchasers."
For these sectors and photoresist (market share spread is 10%), the global market was $11.2 billion in 2009, a decrease of 33.4%, primarily due to a decrease of 41.6% in the silicon wafer sector, which represented 59.9% of the total chemical and material market based on these sectors. We anticipate the market to increase more than 20% in 2010 and more than 15% in 2011.
