01
Following the shortage of 8-inch wafer production capacity and price increases, the price of semiconductor components has risen, and raw materials such as copper clad laminates have also risen.
The “domino” effect caused by the shortage of wafers, the price increase has gradually spread in wafers, materials, PCB boards, packaging and testing. We have compiled the recent price increase information of the semiconductor industry chain for your reference.
Copper clad laminate
In November, copper clad laminate manufacturers began to issue another “price increase letter”, with an increase of about 10%, mainly due to the price increase of their raw materials copper, epoxy resin and glass fiber and strong customer demand. Copper clad laminate is the core material of PCB manufacturing, which accounts for about 20%-40% of PCB production cost, and has a strong interdependence with PCB.
It has been reported that after the fire broke out in UNIMICRON TECHNOLOGY CORP, a new round of price increases for IC carrier board seems to have officially started. The price increase is about 20%-40%. The IC carrier board can protect the circuit, fix the circuit and dissipate the waste heat. It is a key part in the packaging process, accounting for 40-50% of the packaging cost.
The leading manufacturer Ase Technology Holding Co., Ltd has recently notified its customers to increase the price by 5-10% in the first quarter of next year after raising the price of new and urgent orders in the fourth quarter, in response to IC carrier boards and lead frames. And so on material costs rise.
Wafer
Foundry production capacity is in short supply, including TSMC, UMC, VIS , PSMC, etc. Their orders in fourth-quarter are full. Even the first half-year in 2021 production capacity have been fully booked by customers.
The latest news shows that except TSMC and Samsung Electronics, other foundry companies such as Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation have raised their 8-inch foundry quotations, which will increase by at least 20% in 2021, and rush orders will even reach 40%.
Packing and testing
On November 20, ASE Semiconductor, a subsidiary of ASE, a major packaging and testing company, notified customers that it will increase the average order price of packaging and testing by 5-10% in the first quarter of 2021. In response to the short supply caused by rising cost and increasing demand.
Chips
AKM, STM, NXP, Realtek, Renesas, AVX, Microchip, TI, ADI, ON Semiconductor are all shortage supply and price increase brands. For detail information please refer to the 03 part.
02
The rise in wafers, chips, packaging and testing, terminal products, and raw materials are like the rise in masks, mask machines, and melt blown cloth in March and April this year. The final result is that no matter which part the price rises , other parts will also increase in price in the crazy market.The original factory mainly supports large customers, and large customers have contracted production capacity, and doubled the order to increase stocking, resulting in small customers unable to buy materials.
In general, the current stock-out market is not only determined by the supply of wafer capacity itself, but also affected by factors such as capacity allocation rules. The more important factor for the continued price increase is that manufacturers are rushing for production capacity, chips, and raw materials for supply chain security.
The shortage of wafer capacity causes a high probability of shortages, and it takes 3-6 months to reflect on the market.
03
Brand in shortage supply and price increased
AKM
On October 30, AKM officially announced that the fired factory is difficult to recover. It is expected that it will not be booked until Q4 next year. It is currently seeking external foundry partners. As an audio IC giant, AKM’s severe fire meant that the supply was cut off. The niche and low market liquidity amplified the scarcity of AKM, and it would be difficult for AKM to replenish in the spot market in a short time. Almost all of the AKM product lines are currently increasing, ranging from several to several tens of times
STM
Since November, the momentum of STM price increases has been curbed. The prices of 103 and 030 series have been fine-tuned and have fallen below US$2. STM’s capacity problem has not been alleviated, the delivery time is still around 16-20 weeks, and the price quota for major customers is almost exhausted. This shows that the delivery time cannot be returned to the past in a short time.
NXP
The shortage has been very obvious in November. The original factory’s production capacity and raw materials are insufficient, and the delivery time is elongated. The current standard delivery time is 20 weeks +. And it often happens that the delivery is not on time. Should pay attention to the delivery time. The automotive materials are in short supply. And NFC chip supply also continues to be tight.
Realtek
Describe the situation of Realtek in November as a whole: price increase and out of stock. The shortage of Realtek in November is more obvious. The supply sources can be found have become less. The shortage of many network card chips and switch chips is increasingly happen to the client. The material order and delivery period has been extended to after March next year, and the market price is showing an upward trend every day.
Renesas
Renesas Electronics has been in tight supply, delayed frequently, and the delivery date is at least 16-20 weeks (some models are scheduled to 30 weeks). The shortage trend will continue to Q1 next year or after.
On November 30, Renesas sent a notice of product price increase to customers, and the effective date of the price increase is January 1, 2021.
AVX
In the tantalum capacitor market, shortages are still the main situation at present. The main reason is the insufficient production capacity of factories. In the first three quarters, due to the epidemic situation and the second half of the year, the demand for consumer products, industrial, new energy, and automotive-related products increased, and the delivery time was extended again. Conventional A, B, etc., 105, 106, 107, 226UF, 16V, 35V, 25V, etc. are severely in shortage. And the prices are rising all the way; T521, TPSE, etc. ESR resistance, high polymer capacitors even more in short supply. The alternate brands KEMEET, AVX, and VISHAY have all delivered more than 20 weeks.
Microchip
Since mid-October, Microchip has an increase in demand compared to the past months. It is caused by the extended delivery period. The lead time of some models of Microchip has been extended to more than 26 weeks, including Atmel and Microsemi, the lead time is very long. The market is in short supply.
TI
Since November, TI’s shortage of supply has become more obvious, not only because of the shortage of small wafers, but also because of the agency’s abandonment of shipments in the last quarter. Some part numbers have been in a state of lack. Such as TPS63070RNMR, which originally cost tens of cents, has now reached about four dollars.
TI’s price is still unstable, and the delivery period will gradually lengthen. If you have some frequent demand for part numbers. It is better to stock up in time.
ADI
Recently, the demand for ADI is relatively small, and some materials out of stock for a long time have also arrived in large quantities. The price of ADM2587 has gradually returned to the normal level. After ADM3053 has risen above US$7, and then it dived around US$4. The market has been in a price war.
However, some general part numbers are still in short supply. The delivery of REF195GSZ is expected to ease, but the current market price is still at estimated price; the market price of ADUM1201ARZ is still US$0.7. Although ADI’s recent demand is low, it will take some time for the supply and demand relationship to restore balance. Even if the market is engaged in a price war, the overall price is still high. We can try more agents and original factory channels to get better support.
ON Semiconductor
In the fourth quarter, ON Semiconductor’s market demand is still strong, mainly due to the shortage of wafer capacity that has continued from the first half of the year to the present. The shortage of 8-inch wafers and price increases have the greatest impact on ON Semiconductor, because the demand of 8-inch wafers basically covers the various product lines of ON Semiconductor, such as power devices, power management ICs, image sensors, and driver ICs, especially Mosfet in power devices.
