Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Thanks a resurgence in the memory chip market and increased spending by foundries, semiconductor industry capital spending will reach nearly $33.5 billion this year, up 50 percent from 2009, according to a forecast by one Wall Street analyst.
After shutting down capacity during a brutal year in 2009, memory makers will open their wallets in 2010, accounting for 42 percent of chip industry capital spending, according to C.J. Muse, an analyst at Barclays Capital. By comparison, memory companies accounted for 38 percent of industry capital spending in 2009 after a peak of 63 percent in 2007, Muse said in a report circulated Monday (Jan. 4).
Foundry companies are also expected to raise spending in 2010 to $9 billion, up from $5 billion in 2009, Muse said. He cited an expected capital spending war between established foundries like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and newer players like the deep-pocketed Globalfoundries Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., which wants a bigger chunk of the foundry business.
Muse had in October predicted that semiconductor industry capital expenditures would rise by 45 percent to $31 billion in 2010. But recent check have revealed that capital spending budgets are opening further, particularly for lithography equipment, Muse wrote in the report.
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By: DocMemory
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