There are many factors that should be taken into consideration when doing market research. To better assess supply chain changes, let's first draw a 3x3 grid that offers a clear framework on all key information. Across the diagonal of the grid, we put the fundamental factors that will affect the ICT industry's integrity and influence. Then, we put supply-side factors on the upper left part of the grid and demand-side factors on the lower right. This will help us gain a grasp of key information when searching through a massive database.My latest book, Disconnected ICT Supply Chains: New Power Plays Unfolding offers readers this 3x3 grid as a quick reference and framework to understanding the ecosystem, markets and crucial factors.

In the competitive smartphone maket, product differentiation is one of the crucial factors to attract customers. Handset vendors are now looking to customized chips to achieve such production differentiation, with Xiaomi reportedly working closely with MediaTek on developing 5G SoCs for its phones. In the display sector, the moves of Samsung Display and LG Display to quit LCD production have sent TV vendors looking elsewhere for panel support, which in turn is increasing demand for driver ICs and TV SoCs from non-Korean suppliers. In the EV sector, supply of SiC wafers is expect to become tight, with suppliers now looking to expand production capacity. Xiaomi, MediaTek reportedly team up for custom smartphone chips: Chinese handset vendor Xiaomi reportedly will work more closely with MediaTek to jointly develop customized SoCs for 5G smartphones after having its Redmi 10X series adopt the chipmaker's Dimensity 820 mobile processor, according to industry sources.Prices for TV SoCs, driver ICs set to rise: Taiwan's IC designers are mulling raising quotes for TV SoCs and driver ICs amid increasingly tight supply as Korean vendors gradually quit production of LCD panels and TVs as well as related chips solutions, according to industry sources.SiC wafer in robust demand for EV applications: The supply of SiC wafers may become insufficient to satisfy demand for electric vehicles (EV) in the near future, prompting Taiwan-based silicon wafer makers including GlobalWafers, Wafer Works and Tainergy Tech to step up deployments in the new segment, according to industry sources.

TSMC is the clear leader in the semiconductor foundry sector, and Samsung is keen to close the gap. The Korean giant reportedly plans to skip the 4nm node and jump directly from 5nm to 3nm in a bid to beat the Taiwanese rival in the tech advancement race. Meanwhile, TLC NAND flash prices are coming under downward pressure thanks to a slowdown in consumer SSD demand in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.Samsung reportedly to skip 4nm foundry process: Samsung Electronics has revised its foundry process roadmap, skipping 4nm and jumping directly to 3nm from 5nm, according to industry sources.TLC NAND flash prices under downward pressure: NAND flash contract prices are expected to hold flat in the third quarter of 2020, but prices for 3D 3bits/cell (TLC) NAND chips have come under increasingly downward pressure due to a further slowdown in consumer SSD demand, according to industry sources.

To give a clear picture of the ICT industries, we can divide them into five major market segments - communication, computing, home appliances, automotive electronics, and industrial automation/defense. For example, computing and communication contribute about 65-70% of the ICT sales, with consumer electronics, automotive devices, and industrial control each accounting for about 10%. Automotive devices promise explosive growths, while industrial control involves large varieties of applications. But the arrival of 5G is also promising huge business opportunities for industrial applications. Consumer electronics still have potentials coming from smart home applications, such as TVs.The display panel industry is also a key sector along with semiconductor. But the next stage of development will rely on emerging markets and decentralized supply chains. COVID-19 has disrupted carmakers' supply chains, but for Japanese and Korean carmakers, it was the lack of low-end parts, such as wiring harnesses, that stalled their production. Japanese and Korean carmakers rely on China for 30% of their parts supply, while the US reliance is only about 13%. What's difference between them?These show the opportunities for Vietnam, Indonesia, India and the Philippines to become manufacturing hubs. Will Canada and Mexico stand a chance in the carmaking industry with US support? In my new book, Disconnected ICT Supply Chains, I try to answer some of the questions raised in the wake of COVID-19.Correlation between 3 core ICT sectors and 5 major market segments

China's top-3 OSAT providers - Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology (JCET), Huatian Technology and Tongfu Microelectronics - are expected to see their combined revenues increase 8% on year in 2020, mainly bolstered by 5G infrastructure construction, according to Digitimes Research.Statistics show the three firms raked in total revenues of CNY39.9 billion (US$5.65 billion) in 2019, up only 4% from a year earlier amid the US-China trade rows and lackluster semiconductor sales. Among them, JCET posted a negative revenue growth for the year due mainly to its subsidiary STATS ChipPAC's significant shrinkage in revenues from packaging handset, memory and cryptocurrency mining chips solutions, while Huatian and Tongfu both registered double-digit annual revenue increases thanks to processing new chip products for clients or acquisition gains.The coronavirus pandemic and intensifying US-China trade tensions have added uncertainties to revenue performance of China's top-3 OSAT players, but their on-year revenue expansion may double to 8% for 2020 on rush chip demand for healthcare and remote work and learning applications, gradual ramp-up in 5G handset shipments, and particularly accelerating 5G infrastructure construction in China and its relentless efforts in pursuing semiconductor self-sufficiency.In terms of technology deployments, the three firms, already able to handle volume production of SiP, fan-out, FC (flip chip) and TSV (through silicon via) processes, are focusing on developing 2.5D and 3D packaging processes seeking to better benefit from ever-expanding demand for 5G networking, HPC, memory, sensor and automotive chips.

Noodoe has developed a cloud-based operating platform for managing electric vehicle charging stations, according to company chairman John Wang.Noodoe EV OS is applicable to all types of connected EV charging piles and provides central management functions to allow operational personnel to configure pricing, modify peak hours, monitor operating status and infrastructure of charging piles, and process payments, Wang said.Noodoe EV OS features automated diagnosis through constantly checking operating conditions of every charging pile, and if necessary, sending notification and initiating recovery processes for the charging piles, Wang noted.In March 2020 Noodoe partnered with US-based electricity supplier Southern California Edison (SCE), which connected Noodoe EV OS with its management center, Wang indicated.Noodoe has also developed various EV charging modules for use in homes, commercial buildings/facilities and logistic car fleets, Wang said.Noodoe in May 2020 cooperated with Audi Taiwan to help its customers evaluate the feasibility of installing EV charging modules at home.Noodoe chairman John WangPhoto: Shihmin Fu, Digitimes, June 2020

The 5G era may not be getting off to a flying start, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, but the unexpected development - plus the US-China trade war - is giving MediaTek an advantage over its major competitor Qualcomm in 2020 because of the Taiwanese vendor's strong focus on the sub-6Ghz segment and on the Chinese market. But penetration of mmWave-enabled 5G phones may not wait too long before expanding fast. Taiwan-based IC substrate makers continue to improve their AiP substrate production yield rates seeking to gain a firm presence in AiP packaging that is expected to be widely used in mmWave smartphones. For the PC sector, the pandemic has unexpectedly driven shipment growth to support stay-at-home needs. Though commerical and consumer devices may have already seen peak demand of 2020 in the second quarter, gaming notebooks sales are expected to stay strong in the second half of the year.MediaTek poses growing threat to Qualcomm: MediaTek's focus on the sub-6GHz segment and the China market is putting the Taiwan-based company in a better position to march into the 5G mobile chip market, according to market observers.Taiwan makers revving up to boost FC-AiP substrate yield rates: Taiwan-based IC substrate makers continue to improve their AiP (antenna in package) substrate production yield rates seeking to gain a firm presence in AiP packaging that is expected to be widely used in mmWave-enabled 5G smartphones, according to industry sources.PC firms upbeat about gaming notebook sales in 2H20: PC vendors are optimistic about gaming notebook sales in the second half of this year, but believe sales of commercial and consumer models may have already hit their peak levels for 2020 in the second quarter.

Apple is expected to launch its 5G iPhone later this year, but its supply chain partners are now much less optimistic about shipments for the new devices that reportedly will support mmWave in 2020. Apple has been relying mostly on Taiwan-based manufacturers for assembling its devices, but Chinese makers are now gaining ground, as the US client looks to diversify its supply chain. ABF susbstrate suppliers stand to lose orders from Huawei because of US sanctions on the Chinese firm, but they will expect tight supply of their products because of demand from other clients.5G iPhone shipments may be much weaker than expected in 2020, say sources: Shipments of mmWave-enabled 5G iPhones slated for launch later this year are estimated to reach only 15-20 million units in 2020 compared to a previous supply chain estimate of 30-40 million units, intensifying competition among Apple's suppliers of FC-AiP substrates for the new phones, according to industry sources.Chinese firms gaining significant ground in Apple devices assembly chain: In order to cut costs, diversify production risks and better tap the Chinese market, Apple has allowed Chinese partners to play an increasingly important role in assembling diverse devices including iPads, Apple Watches and AirPods, posing growing threats to the vendor's existing Taiwan-based assemblers, according to industry sources.ABF substrate supply to stay tight despite Huawei woes: Taiwan-based IC substrate suppliers including Unimicron Technology and Nan Ya PCB are expected to continue experiencing tight supply of ABS substrates throughout 2020 despite losses of orders from Huawei, but their profitability may fall slightly, according to industry sources.

Nvidia is currently still ahead of competitors in the server GPU market and saw its revenues from the datacenter business reach US$2.98 billion in 2019, nearly three times those of AMD estimated at around US$1 billion.However, AMD, with support from TSMC's advanced manufacturing processes amid fast growth in the datacenter market, has been gaining market share in the server segment. As the only chip developer with an APU product line that integrates its in-house CPU with GPU, AMD is expected to be able to gradually build a server ecosystem of its own, Digitimes Research believes.The server business' contribution to Nvidia's revenues has continued rising with the proportion growing from 25% in the company's fiscal 2019 to 27.4% in fiscal 2020 ended January 26, 2020, and to 37% in fiscal first-quarter 2021 ended April 26, 2020.As applications for high performance computing (HPC) and AI are still in strong demand from the datacenter market, Nvidia and AMD are both optimistic about their sales in the calendar second quarter of 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic.Nvidia reported revenues of US$1.14 billion for its datacenter business for its fiscal first-quarter 2021, while AMD's revenues in the first quarter of 2020 are expected to have stayed in high gear thanks to cloud computing service providers' keen deployments of servers during the pandemic.AMD is also expected to see strong order pull-ins from clients during the second quarter of 2020. AMD also set a goal of having more than 30% of its overall revenues coming from the datacenter business by 2023, showing its determination of making the datacenter business a key focus in the next few years.

China has a population of 1.4 billion in 2020. China's GDP would reach US$15.7 trillion according to CIA estimates. If China could maintain its target of a 6% growth, its GDP would be close to 80% of America's US$20 trillion. CIA even projected that China's GDP would climb to US$38.2 trillion by 2040, far surpassing America's US$28.8 trillion. China has become the world's factory and the world's biggest market.But what will become of China in the post-pandemic era? China's economic growth will no longer be able to rely on investments in infrastructure, which is already well-established in most parts of the country. And it remains uncertain whether China will have the financial means to support its semiconductor development and 5G deployments, judging from its worsening finances. How is Huawei going to survive under US sanctions? Is Samsung going to benefit from the Huawei woes? These are some of the questions I try to answer in my book, Disconnected ICT Supply Chains: New Power Plays Unfolding.Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China, Feb 2020