SEMI FabView update: More investments in semiconductor fabs

By Christian G. Dieseldorff and Eugenia Liu

SEMI FabView update for calendar year Q3 2018

Global fab construction investment shows continuing strength, with 19 new fab projects expected to begin construction in 2019 and 2020, based on the latest data published in SEMI’s World Fab Forecast.

Fab investment is just one indicator of how growing demand in areas such as high-performance computing, data storage, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and automotive are driving the fourth consecutive year of spending growth in the semiconductor industry. Below are a few highlights* from September’s SEMI FabView:

Memory: Not fading

• Micron plans to invest $3 billion by 2030 in Manassas, Virginia – These investments, driven by strong demand for automotive applications, are contemplated in Micron’s long-term model. The production ramp is anticipated to be in the first half of 2020.

• SK Hynix to build new DRAM fab in Icheon (Gyeonggi Province), Korea – The construction, to be completed by the end of 2020, will adopt 1znm node (probably EUV). Total investment is estimated to exceed $13 billion.

• Nanya Technology doubles 2018 capex plan – The increase is for additional DRAM capacity and more 20nm DRAM conversion (from 30nm).

200mm and below: Not leading edge, but continues to draw investment

• Vanguard changes fab investment strategy – Vanguard will focus on 200 mm and has scrapped its plan for 300mm expansion.
• Murata to invest into 150mm expansion – Murata announced a 5 billion Yen investment (US$44.6 million) in a new fab extension in Vantaa, Finland.

Investment, M&A in Analog, Logic, Power and Opto Segments

• Texas Instruments is looking to invest $3.2 billion in new fab construction in 2019 – Texas Instruments is eyeing Richardson, Texas and also considering sites outside Texas.

• Bosch 300mm fab in Dresden, Germany – Bosch held a groundbreaking ceremony on April 24. Equipment installation is expected in 2H19.
• Microchip completes acquisition of Microsemi – Microchip closed its $8.45 billion acquisition of Microsemi on May 29. Microsemi has five fabs in the U.S. with a wide range of semiconductor products and system solutions.

New fabs in China keep on coming

• Shanghai Jita Semiconductor/Huada Semiconductor – Shanghai Jita Semiconductor, a subsidiary of Huada Semiconductor and China Electronics Corporation (CEC), announced plans earlier this month to build both 200 mm and 300 mm semiconductor fabs for analog and power semiconductors in Shanghai. The combined fab investment will total $5.18 billion.

• Hamamatsu Photonics building 200 mm fab – Hamamatsu announced that it is building a new facility Investment of 2.8 billion Yen (US$25 million) to boost opto semiconductor capacity. Production is anticipated to start in late 2019.

*Actual FabView updates provide more detail

SEMI FabView, a mobile-friendly, interactive version of SEMI’s popular World Fab Forecast, delivers on-demand fab information such as fab spending and capacity for over 1,200 facilities, including over 60 planned facilities worldwide, across a wide range of product segments including Power, GPU, Memory, Foundry, MEMS and Sensors fabs. Fab data include region, start of construction, operation, construction and equipment spending, capacity, wafer sizes, product types and geometries. SEMI FabView subscribers receive forecast model updates through SEMI’s World Fab Database.  Click here for a trial if you want to experience SEMI FabView first hand.

Christian G. Dieseldorff is senior principal analyst and Eugenia Liu is senior product marketing manager, Industry Research and Statistics, SEMI, Milpitas, California. 

Originally published on the SEMI blog.