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TSMC, the world’s No. 1 foundry company, also “increased prices” due to’shortage of semiconductors’
According to foreign media reports such as the Nihon Keizai (Nikkei) newspaper on the 26th, TSMC is considering raising the price of semiconductors for automobiles in stages from February to March. With the global semiconductor industry entering into price negotiations due to the scarcity of automotive semiconductors, even foundry companies that produce them are attracting attention by specifically mentioning the extent and timing of price hikes.
Considering the symbolism that TSMC is the world’s No. 1 foundry in the industry, this move is highly likely to lead to a series of price hikes for latecomers. TSMC still accounts for only about 10% of automotive semiconductor production.
Foundry is a specialized manufacturer that produces chips when a fabless puts an order. No matter how good the design is, the importance of the foundry has increased more than ever, because cutting-edge semiconductors cannot be used without high-level manufacturing using advanced production technology. In particular, the ransom of the foundry is soaring as demand exceeds supply. According to Trend Force, a market research firm, worldwide foundry sales rose 23.7% year-on-year to 84.6 billion dollars (about 91.93 trillion won), and this year the market is expected to grow 7% more.
TSMC·Samsung,’Fierce competition for new and expansion’
In the industry, TSMC and Samsung Electronics, which are leading foundries, are expected to make large-scale investments this year and compete in fierce competition. In the global foundry market last year, TSMC took first place with 55.6% and Samsung Electronics 16.4%.
The two companies are capable of processing less than 7 nanometers (nm·1 in 100,000). TSMC and Samsung Electronics foundry production capa are known to be fully reserved for processes below 10 nanometers. Huge demand is waiting for Intel, which started outsourcing foundries for sub-processes from this year, including Qualcomm, Apple, and Nvidia, which are large fabless companies seeking 5nm or less processes.
TSMC, which is the No. 1 in the industry, and Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor competition to surpass it are expanding to 3-nano ultra-fine processes. 3nm semiconductors are expected to be applied to areas where a large amount of information and processing speed are important, such as 5G, AI, and autonomous vehicles, so Apple, Google, and Nvidia are considered major potential customers. In the industry, who will mass-produce first is expected to be the key to the win or loss of the ultra-fine fair competition.
TSMC is spurring investment. Last year, its annual sales reached 1.339.3 trillion Taiwan dollars (about 52,554 trillion won), the highest ever. The 5-nano process is doing well in the premium foundry market, accounting for 20% of the total volume. In addition, it plans to invest up to 28 billion dollars (about 30,774 trillion won) this year. This is a 63% increase over the previous year, and more than half of sales are poured out. It is analyzed that orders from Apple, AMD, and Qualcomm are overflowing, and the possibility of additional orders from Intel has been considered.
Samsung Electronics is also challenging. Recently, Samsung Electronics won an order for the production of’South Bridge’ semiconductor chips from Intel. In addition, Intel announced that it plans to expand the volume of consignment production for’specific technologies and products’ through the last performance announcement, and it is observed that Samsung Electronics will be able to win orders for Intel’s 3,5 nano production plant. .
Samsung Electronics is preparing to pursue a new semiconductor plant in the United States. The Wall Street Journal reported that “Samsung Electronics is considering building a semiconductor production line in Texas, Arizona, and New York, spending 17 billion dollars (about 18 trillion won).” On the same day, another foreign press reported that “Samsung Electronics plans to expand the foundry (consignment production) line at the Austin, Texas plant by investing more than 10 billion dollars (about 11 trillion won).” An industry official said, “There is no decision on the size or timing of the investment.” Ahn Jin-ho, a professor at Hanyang University’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, said, “It is now more likely that companies with manufacturing capabilities rather than designing will dominate the market. Improvement is expected.”