Increasing foundry and materials costs are prompting some major IC vendors in Taiwan to decide to raise their product prices in fourth quarter of 2021. In China, many components makers are being affected by the Chinese government's decision to cut power supply to industrial users in line with its carbon reduction policy. PCB suppliers will find out this week whether Apple will increase or cut orders for the iPhone 13 series.
Taiwan's PCB makers in the supply chain of iPhone 13 series are set to know whether Apple will cut or increase orders during the last week of September, but most of them are optimistic that additional orders will come from the US vendor, according to industry sources.
China with its 14th 5-year Plan (2021-2025) will be stepping up the development of the country's homegrown third-generation semiconductor industry supply chain, according to industry observers.
Smartphone sales were strong in Indonesia in second-quarter 2021, with Xiaomi being the top selling brand. while Apple fans in Thailand will receive their new iPhones earlier than usual this year. And Malaysia will have new digital banks next year.
Taiwan-based PCB material supplier Eternal Group forecasts steady shipments in September as demand grows before China heads into its week-long National Day holiday at the beginning of October.
Taiwan's makers of RF and PA devices hope MediaTek can lead the local supply chain to meet competition from Qualcomm in tapping the mmWave 5G market, according to industry sources.
Supply of high-end CCLs continues to fall short of demand, and suppliers in Taiwan are likely to further hike their quotes in 2022 to reflect higher copper foil costs, according to industry sources.
Supply of copper foils has been constrained due to longer delivery times for crucial production equipment, while copper foil suppliers continue to encounter rising costs, according to industry sources.
IDMs including TI, Infineon, STMicroelectronics and Microchip have all stepped up their deployments in the market for power devices using GaN, SiC and other third-generation semiconductor materials, according to industry sources.
GaAs device and foundry company Transom expects military-use radars and other defense systems to emerge as niche application outlet for GaN-on-SiC RF components and modules including power amplifiers (PA), according to the company's chairman and president Chang Chuan-sheng.
On top of the global shortage of semiconductors, passive components are also seeing undersupply as COVID looms large in Southeast Asia, where suppliers are forced to manufacture at lower capacity.
Nan Ya PCB is set to commercialize new ABF substrate capacity by the end of 2021 and will scale up its output substantially for AMD's processors in the second quarter of 2022, which is expected to help the US chipmaker significantly drive up its shipments, according to industry sources.
Due to spec upgrades of new processors and growing difficulty in producing high-end ABF substrates with satisfactory yield rates, the world's actual ABF substrate supply growth could still be limited in 2022 despite commercialization of new capacities, according to industry sources.
China-based Zing Semiconductor is expected to see its monthly production for 12-inch silicon wafers ramp up to one million pieces by 2025 from the current level of 250,000, according to company chairman Wei Li.
Suppliers said demand from Chinese handset vendors is getting opaque in September, portending possible deferral of peak demand and possible decline in suppliers' revenue for the second half of 2021.
Fabless chipmakers are looking to step up their deployments in the 5G RF front-end module (RF FEM) and other device markets by working closely with their manufacturing partners, according to industry sources.
China auto and semiconductor makers are stepping up the development and production of their homegrown SiC chips and modules for EV applications, according to industry sources.
Suppliers of antenna-in-package (AiP) substrates for Apple's new iPhones are gearing up for a ramp-up in demand for mmWave models, according to industry sources.
GaN Systems has announced the signing of a comprehensive capacity agreement with BMW Group for GaN Systems' high-performance, automotive-grade GaN power transistors, which increase the efficiency and power density of critical applications in electric vehicles.
Taiwan-based PCB manufacturers are expected to see their combined output value reach between NT$756.8 billion (US$27.3 billion) and NT$827.2 billion in 2021, according to the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA).
Notebook PCB specialists HannStar Board and Global Brands Manufacture (GBM) continue to see challenges arising from an overall IC shortage, despite brisk shipments prospects for the rest of this year.
China's Big Fund is stepping up investments in the country's memory sector in line with its push for IC self-sufficiency. Meanwhile, the world's major memory chipmakers are ramping up their QLC NAND chip output, eyeing robuts demand from both the PC and server segments. And IDMs, Foxconn and BYD are gearing up deployments in third-generation semiconductors, eyeing EV applications.
International IDMs, Taiwan's EMS leader Foxconn and China's semiconductor and EV vendor BYD Group are all keenly deepening their deployments in third-generation semiconductors GaN and SiC devices that are expected to be massively used in wireless communication and EV charging applications as they can significantly outperform silicon-based semiconductors with their high power density and wide bandgap (WBG) traits, according to industry sources.
