News Article
Techcet looks at wet chemical growth
Semiconductor wet chemicals fall short of 2008 levels
The 2010 market for semiconductor wet chemicals (acids, bases and solvents) totaled $850M, up 13% over the 2009 low, according to a new report from Techcet Group, “Wet Chemicals for Semiconductor Device Processing 2011, A Techcet Group Critical Materials Report.” The 2011 outlook is for 6% additional growth, but recovery to the 2008 high of $968M won't occur until 2013. The semiconductor wet chemicals market is expected to grow to $1.08B by 2015, according to Techcet’s forecast.
Mitsubishi's production of hydrogen peroxide in Japan, disrupted by the March, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, is expected to be back to full capacity this month. China's restrictions on fluorspar and phosphor mineral exports continue to put pressure on hydrofluoric and phosphoric acid manufacturers, while rising petroleum prices are increasing the cost of solvents and polyethylene containers.
The global market is distributed among nine major players with 5% share or greater, led by BASF and Kanto in the first tier. There are, however, vast differences in market leadership by region, with BASF leading only in Europe and China, and Kanto leading only in Japan. KMG’s US market share is now thought to exceed 50% following its acquisition of General Chemical in the first quarter of 2010.
With the continuing migration of semiconductor manufacturing to Asia, the US has fallen to a fourth place 14% in volume consumption of electronic wet chemicals, behind Japan, Taiwan and Korea. In spending on these chemicals, however, the US is slightly ahead of Taiwan and Korea due to intense price competition in Asia and to a disproportionate US demand for higher performance chemicals for leading edge technologies.
