Commercialization of 5G services is expected to accelerate in 2020, with TSMC planning to expand its 2019 capex to meet robust growth in 5G chip demand. And 5G smartphone shipments next year may be much higher than many market observers expect. TSMC will not be the only one in Taiwan's semiconductor supply chain to benefit from the 5G boom, as major chip vendors' Taiwanese suppliers in the silicon-based or compound semiconductor foundry and packaging sectors are revving up their capacity utilization and expansion. Meanwhile, Taiwan-based notebook ODMs saw impressive shipment growths in the second quarter of 2019 as clients built up inventory in response to the US-China trade tensions.
Global 5G phone shipments may reach 150-200 million units in 2020: Global shipments of 5G-enabled smartphones might come higher than market expectations, with some market watchers believing that such shipments are likely to reach 150-200 million units or an over 10% share of global handset shipments in 2020.
Chipmakers, supply chain firms revving up for 5G opportunities: With HiSilicon, Broadcom and other fabless chip vendors gearing up to tap growing demand for 5G infrastructure chipsets, their Taiwanese silicon-based or compound semiconductor foundry and packaging partners are fully revving up their capacity utilization and expansion, according to industry sources.
Global notebook shipments to drop in 3Q19, 4Q19, says Digitimes Research: Worldwide notebook shipments rose over 20% sequentially in the second quarter of 2019, but volumes in both the third and fourth quarters are expected to experience sequential declines, according to Digitimes Research's latest notebook tracker.