Despite the closure of several major fabrication facilities around the world, sufficient capacity is available to meet the needs of customers in virtually all product categories for the rest of 2002, according to iSuppli Corp.'s Market Intelligence Services group.
The one exception is capacity for advanced products requiring geometries of 0.18 microns and less. New facilities to handle these components are expected to come on line by the end of Q2, the company said.
"Although hit hard by the recent precipitous downturn, foundries around the world find themselves in an interesting position. Since Integrated Device Manufacturers (IDMs) were unable to invest in keeping their internal fabs up to current competitive levels, they will be forced to outsource their newproduct manufacturing requirements to remain competitive.
"As a result, we see foundry usage rising rapidly during 2002 and foundry factory utilization passing 70 percent by Q4. In addition, we forecast that foundry revenues will increase fivefold by 2006, posting a CAGR of 38 percent for the next five
years. That is extremely good news for the six new foundry companies expected to come on stream outside of Taiwan in the Far East by the end of Q2," according to iSuppli.
