Global pure-play semiconductor foundry utilization is unlikely to rise above 85% over the next six months, as the industry continues to work through excessive inventory, the Chinese-language news website cnYES.com cited Andrew Lu, head of semiconductor research at Barclays Capital Asia, as reporting on September 8.
Market demand has still not been able to keep up with the continuous expansion of foundry capacity worldwide, Lu was quoted as indicating, adding that the foundry sector will see an oversupply of 15pp for 2011.
Digitimes Research analyst Nobunaga Chai has noted that contract chipmakers would see a sequential drop in third-quarter utilization rates, and possibly flat growth in the fourth quarter in a best-case scenario, affected by inventory digestion throughout the industry supply chain.
Chai's remarks followed reports that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) would not be able to reach its previous target of 20% sales growth for 2011.
Article translated by Jessie Shen
