In fact, 2 or 3 weeks ago, TSMC’s original customers had a 10-12% growth rate in the third quarter, but the wait-and-see atmosphere has recently turned strong, including the lack of product terminals for functional mobile phones and tablet computers, and international integration. IDM manufacturers pulled their goods after the earthquake in Japan. They are now adjusting their inventory and moving some of their orders to the fourth quarter. As a result, the number of wafer fabs in the third quarter is not as good as originally expected, and TSMC's customers in the third quarter The single-quantity growth may decline to 7-9%.
UMC also faces the same problem. UMC Chief Financial Officer Liu Qidong pointed out recently that the second half of 2011 was affected by the European debt crisis, the U.S. economy is uncertain and oil price fluctuations affect the overall boom and bust, and UMC’s 50% revenue comes from the mobile phone market. In the second half of 2011, the smart phone market will have a strong and weak trend. There will be only one or two manufacturers’ exclusive business opportunities. The overall mobile phone market seems to be less likely than expected and will affect UMC’s operation in the second half of 2011. In addition, UMC had previously added new production capacity, and customers are now placing orders less than expected! The suppression of capacity utilization in the third quarter will also cause downward pressure on foundry prices.
Due to uncertainties in the second half of 2011, TSMC has recently launched a two-pronged strategy to achieve a 20% annual revenue growth target, including lobbying customers to place orders now to enjoy more flexible prices, hoping to win orders from competitors’ customers. Some customers have returned some of their orders from UMC and SMIC to TSMC.
In addition, in order to avoid a decline in gross profit margin, TSMC has switched its supplies substantially to validated products from local manufacturers to effectively reduce costs. Among them, 12-inch consumables, including diamond discs and remanufactured wafers, will all decrease in the second half of 2011. The proportion of foreign companies was replaced by Taiwan factories, including Zhongsha and Xiangming, all of which were on the list of suppliers of this wave and became alternative beneficiaries under uncertain economic conditions.
Boom declines Taiwan wafer foundry startup new strategy
The semiconductor industry was still optimistic about the prospects of the industry in early June, but it has recently begun to permeate the pessimistic atmosphere of the third quarter, mainly due to the doubts about the demand for functional mobile phones. Currently, the number of wafer fabs in the third quarter has appeared. In terms of repairs, TSMC should have grown from a two-digit figure, and it has already slipped to the single-digit level. UMC also said frankly that the mobile phone market is not expected to affect the operation in the second half of 2011. In the face of booming business sentiment, TSMC has recently launched a contingency strategy to achieve a 20% annual revenue growth target.