Semiconductor equipment is once again facing the dilemma of extended lead times up to 18-30 months, with repercussions for downstream supply, reports TrendForce.
This delay of semiconductor equipment is expected to affect TSMC, UMC, PSMC, Vanguard, SMIC, and GlobalFoundries in 2023: annual capacity growth is expected to fall to 8% for the year while expansion plans are delayed for approximately two to nine months.
TrendForce says, “Induced by the Russian-Ukrainian war, logistic gridlock, and insufficient production capacity of semiconductor industrial control chips, production of semiconductor equipment will begin feeling the impact of raw material and chip shortages by 2022. Excluding EUV lithography equipment with a fixed annual output, the lead time of remaining machinery will be extended to 18-30 months, among which the shortage of DUV lithography equipment is the most serious, followed by CVD/PVD deposition and etching.
“It is worth mentioning that the Russian-Ukrainian war and rising inflation have affected the acquisition of various raw materials, as well as the continuing impact of the pandemic on manpower, both of which have led to delays in semiconductor fab construction.
“From 2H22 to 2023, high inflationary pressure may continue to depress global consumer demand. However, from the supply side, the process of wafer foundry expansion is affected by factors such as equipment delivery delays and plant construction delays. These delays will cause the annual growth rate of global wafer foundry capacity to shrink to 8% in 2023.”
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