Expecting global economic recovery…車·electronics companies surge in semiconductor order
Samsung Electronics·DB Hitech “The production schedule is full by the end of this year”
DB HiTek, the second-largest domestic and tenth-largest (as of the fourth quarter of 2020) foundry (consigned semiconductor production) company, is fully operational at Eumseong Sangwoo, Bucheon and Chungbuk, Gyeonggi Province. Normally, 5% of the production capacity is left empty to handle sudden additional orders from customers, but the utilization rate has recently been raised to 100%. A company official said, “As orders from domestic and foreign fabless (semiconductor design companies) are inundated, there is no room for additional production until the first half of this year.”
According to the semiconductor industry on the 5th, foundry companies are experiencing a’super boom’ as orders exceeding production capacity are received. The impact of the rapid increase in demand for system semiconductors is large as auto and electronic companies, which predicted that the global economy would recover from the spread of the corona vaccine, significantly increased production. The full-scale launch of automobiles and 5G smartphones with the latest electric field (electronic equipment) technology also had an impact.
Even if you place orders for smartphone application processor (AP), graphic processing unit (GPU), vehicle semiconductors, etc. to leading foundries such as TSMC and Samsung Electronics, you have to wait for more than a year. An official from Samsung Electronics said, “The foundry production schedule is full by the end of the year.” He explained.
The situation is similar for foundries in the top 5-10 that mainly produce semiconductors through 8-inch wafers. These companies are focusing on orders for analog semiconductors (chips that convert natural signals such as light and sound into digital) and power semiconductors that control power. These semiconductors are mainly used in TVs and home appliances, and demand is increasing rapidly due to the prolonged new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) and the impact of’repulsive consumption’ following the spread of’home economy’.
Electronics and automobile companies are in a state of super tension as to whether they will disrupt product production. Audi Volkswagen Group plans to reduce vehicle production in China and other places in the first quarter due to a lack of automotive semiconductors. Some say that in Japan, home appliance makers delayed product launch for about 10 weeks due to lack of Bluetooth chips. A high-ranking foundry official predicted, “The demand for system semiconductors is structurally increasing due to technological advancements such as 5G.” “The foundry boom will continue for more than a year.”
Reporter Hwang Jung-soo/Lee Soo-bin [email protected]
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