Memory Suppliers Account For More Than 60% of 300mm Wafer Capacity

Ranking of top 10 suppliers now accounts for 93% of total installed 300mm wafer capacity.

January 27, 2015 -- A ranking of the industry’s largest IC manufacturers in terms of installed 300mm wafer start capacity in 2014 is provided in Figure 1. Included in the list are four companies from North America, four from Taiwan, two companies from South Korea, two from Taiwan, and one from Japan (two companies tied for the #10 position).

Figure 1

Collectively, the top 11 suppliers held 93.2% of worldwide 300mm wafer start capacity in 2014 with the top eight companies having 300mm wafer start capacity of more than 100,000 wafers per month. For comparison, the top 300mm capacity leaders held 85% share of 300mm capacity in 2010.

The top five suppliers saw the biggest gain in 300mm capacity share. At the end of 2014, the top 5 300mm wafer capacity holders represented 73% of worldwide capacity, 15 points more than the 58% they held in 2010.

As of December 2014, Samsung had the most 300mm wafer capacity at nearly 1.0 million wafers per month, which represented 23.5% of the world’s total 300mm wafer capacity. Samsung uses most of its 300mm capacity to fabricate DRAM and flash memory devices although a significant share is dedicated to manufacturing cellphone and tablet computer processors for itself and others. Three other memory suppliers were next in line in the ranking. Micron quickly moved into the number two position after acquiring Elpida and its 300mm wafer fab facilities. Micron’s 300mm wafer capacity includes its share of capacity from joint ventures with Intel (IMFT) and Nanya (Inotera). Toshiba/SanDisk and SK Hynix were ranked #3 and #4 respectively in the list with both having opened and/or expanded 300mm wafer fabs within the past few years. Collectively, these four memory suppliers accounted for 62% of global 300mm wafer fab capacity at the end of 2014.

Three foundries—TSMC, UMC, and GlobalFoundries—appeared in the ranking. TSMC, the largest pure-play foundry in the world, had installed 300mm capacity of 430,000 wafers per month at the end of 2014, which represented 10.3% of total worldwide 300mm capacity. For TSMC, 300mm capacity accounts for 44% of its total wafer fab capacity, with 200mm wafers accounting for 47% and 150mm wafers, 9%. GlobalFoundries’ capacity is split 51% for 300mm wafers and 49% for 200mm wafers. For UMC, 300mm wafers represent 26% of its total capacity with 200mm wafers accounting for 65%, and 150mm wafers accounting for 9%. Foundry suppliers shown on this list held 18% of worldwide 300mm wafer fab capacity at the end of 2014.

Report Details: The 2015 McClean Report and Global Wafer Capacity 2015-2019

Additional details and a forecast of the IC industry’s wafer fab capacity through 2019 are provided in two new reports from IC Insights. The McClean Report—A Complete Analysis and Forecast of the Integrated Circuit Industry is IC Insights’ highly regarded flagship market analysis and forecast report that features more than 400 tables and graphs showing information and data covering all aspects of the IC industry. A subscription to The McClean Report includes free attendance to The McClean Report half-day seminar. The next McClean Report 2015 seminar will be held in Boston, Massachusetts on Thursday, January 29

In addition to the seminar, a subscription to The McClean Report includes free monthly updates from March through November (including a 250+ page Mid-Year Update), and free access to subscriber-only webinars throughout the year. An individual-user license to the 2015 edition of The McClean Report is priced at $3,590 and includes an Internet access password. A multi-user worldwide corporate license is available for $6,590.

Global Wafer Capacity 2015-2019—Detailed Analysis and Forecast of the IC Industry’s Wafer Fab Capacity assesses the IC industry’s capacity by wafer size, minimum process geometry, technology type, geographic region, and by device type through 2019. The report also includes detailed profiles of the companies most likely to build 450mm wafer fabs and gives detailed specifications on existing wafer fab facilities. Global Wafer Capacity provides a tremendous resource for researching, evaluating, and comparing wafer fab facilities and industry capacity. The Global Wafer Capacity report is priced at $4,290 for an individual user password. A multi-user worldwide corporate license is available for $6,990.

To review additional information about IC Insights’ new and existing market research reports and services please visit our website: www.icinsights.com.

More Information Contact

For more information regarding this Research Bulletin, please contact Bill McClean, President, at IC Insights. Phone: +1-480-348-1133, email: bill@icinsights.com

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