Posted on Saturday, March 14 2009 @ 2:35 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
While the last couple of months were disastrous, semiconductor firms TSMC and UMC are reportedly getting more orders for the second quarter of the year. DigiTimes
claims both foundries are expecting demand for GPUs, handset chips and network-related ICs will increase by double-digit levels over the upcoming quarter.
Both pure-play foundries are expected to see orders for GPUs, handset chips and network-related ICs increase by double-digit levels over the upcoming quarter, said the sources. Although TSMC and UMC have recently secured new orders with IC designers thanks to rush orders from China and demand for TV converter boxes from the US, end markets are still uncertain, the sources indicated.
Since the fourth quarter of 2008, TSMC, UMC and Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing have struggled to secure new orders for chips used in a wide range of applications including PCs and handsets. The top-three chip foundries were downbeat about their outlooks for the first quarter of the year after posting a poor fourth quarter of 2008. But, beginning this month, a slight pick-up has allowed TSMC and Chartered to revise upward their first-quarter performance estimates, signaling that the market has already hit bottom.
