According to a new research report issued by market research firm iSuppli on Monday, the recent earthquake in Japan has reduced global semiconductor wafer production by a quarter.
Shine-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.'s Baihe plant has stopped production. US silicon wafer manufacturer MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. Utsunomiya production plant has also been discontinued.
ISuppli said that the memory supply in the chip industry is most affected by the earthquake, followed by logic semiconductors used in various devices. About 70 percent of the world's printed circuit board material production has also stopped, but iSuppli believes that manufacturers have already stocked enough inventory, so this part of the product may be less affected.
ISuppli said that Japan's earthquake has caused 25% of its wafer production capacity to stop production, which may have a serious impact on the global electronics supply chain. Wafers, semiconductor chips and even end products will be affected until the production plants resume production. For manufacturers, they can choose to sign short-term chip production contracts with other manufacturers or purchase auxiliary memory components at higher prices.
ISuppli claims that the wafers supplied by these factories are not only used to meet the needs of the Japanese domestic market, but also to semiconductor manufacturers around the world. Therefore, the suspension of these factories may have a wide range of impacts on the electronics industry outside of Japan. A 25% reduction in supply may have a serious impact on global semiconductor production.
ISuppli said that about 40% of Renesas's assembly line has been discontinued, and Fujitsu's chip shipments have also been reduced by half. Renesas is the industry's leading supplier of microcontrollers and a supplier of built-in DRAM.
Shineway Chemical's Shirakawa Plant's production capacity accounts for 20% of the global silicon semiconductor wafer supply. According to relevant reports, the production facilities and equipment of the production plant were damaged due to the earthquake. Shin-Etsu Chemical stated that it is still unclear when it will be possible to restore damaged buildings and equipment. MEMC stated that after the earthquake, the company had evacuated Utsunomiya production plant employees, stopped production, and postponed the supply plan. Utsunomiya production plants account for 5% of the global semiconductor wafer supply.
TrendForce, the parent company of DRAMexchange, the cash market research service provider, said on Friday that although the buying price has caused a 5% to 15% price rise in the NAND flash spot market, the reduction in NAND flash supply due to the earthquake may be Less than 4%, the increase in prices will offset the negative impact of the traditional off-season sales.
It said: "After the earthquake, DRAMeXchange expects the spot price of NAND flash to increase sharply because of the uncertainties in the supply situation. However, when all the uncertainties disappear, the market will return to rationality and the product price will be The second quarter stabilized and reflected real demand and supply conditions. Affected manufacturers, power and logistics and other infrastructure will recover in the second quarter, so the affected NAND flash supply will also improve, although the second quarter has been in the middle of the second quarter. The sales season is off-season, but the combination of these factors will lead to a gradual decline in product prices."
AKM, which produces an electronic compass for the iPad 2, also confirmed to iSuppli that its manufacturing facility was not damaged by the earthquake. Prior to this, the industry worried that the production of its electronic compass might be affected by the earthquake and thus affect the production of the iPad 2.
Shine-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.'s Baihe plant has stopped production. US silicon wafer manufacturer MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. Utsunomiya production plant has also been discontinued.
ISuppli said that the memory supply in the chip industry is most affected by the earthquake, followed by logic semiconductors used in various devices. About 70 percent of the world's printed circuit board material production has also stopped, but iSuppli believes that manufacturers have already stocked enough inventory, so this part of the product may be less affected.
ISuppli said that Japan's earthquake has caused 25% of its wafer production capacity to stop production, which may have a serious impact on the global electronics supply chain. Wafers, semiconductor chips and even end products will be affected until the production plants resume production. For manufacturers, they can choose to sign short-term chip production contracts with other manufacturers or purchase auxiliary memory components at higher prices.
ISuppli claims that the wafers supplied by these factories are not only used to meet the needs of the Japanese domestic market, but also to semiconductor manufacturers around the world. Therefore, the suspension of these factories may have a wide range of impacts on the electronics industry outside of Japan. A 25% reduction in supply may have a serious impact on global semiconductor production.
ISuppli said that about 40% of Renesas's assembly line has been discontinued, and Fujitsu's chip shipments have also been reduced by half. Renesas is the industry's leading supplier of microcontrollers and a supplier of built-in DRAM.
Shineway Chemical's Shirakawa Plant's production capacity accounts for 20% of the global silicon semiconductor wafer supply. According to relevant reports, the production facilities and equipment of the production plant were damaged due to the earthquake. Shin-Etsu Chemical stated that it is still unclear when it will be possible to restore damaged buildings and equipment. MEMC stated that after the earthquake, the company had evacuated Utsunomiya production plant employees, stopped production, and postponed the supply plan. Utsunomiya production plants account for 5% of the global semiconductor wafer supply.
TrendForce, the parent company of DRAMexchange, the cash market research service provider, said on Friday that although the buying price has caused a 5% to 15% price rise in the NAND flash spot market, the reduction in NAND flash supply due to the earthquake may be Less than 4%, the increase in prices will offset the negative impact of the traditional off-season sales.
It said: "After the earthquake, DRAMeXchange expects the spot price of NAND flash to increase sharply because of the uncertainties in the supply situation. However, when all the uncertainties disappear, the market will return to rationality and the product price will be The second quarter stabilized and reflected real demand and supply conditions. Affected manufacturers, power and logistics and other infrastructure will recover in the second quarter, so the affected NAND flash supply will also improve, although the second quarter has been in the middle of the second quarter. The sales season is off-season, but the combination of these factors will lead to a gradual decline in product prices."
AKM, which produces an electronic compass for the iPad 2, also confirmed to iSuppli that its manufacturing facility was not damaged by the earthquake. Prior to this, the industry worried that the production of its electronic compass might be affected by the earthquake and thus affect the production of the iPad 2.