http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2012/09/22/2003543345
An upswing in the average selling price of integrated circuits is expected to boost the production value of the global semiconductor industry through 2021, a market advisory firm said on Thursday.
IC Insights said the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the average selling price of ICs is expected to be 1 percent for the period from last year to 2021, partly because few newcomers are to join the competition.
Citing its own research, the advisory firm said it does not anticipate any excessive investments in the business or delays in the production of advanced 18-inch wafers during that period, which means IC prices can be expected to remain stable. Although IC shipments may be affected by the weak global economy and some technical hurdles in the industry, rising product prices are expected to offset the impact and drive production output higher, IC Insights said.
The CAGR of the global IC industry’s production value is expected to reach 8 percent in the period from last year to 2021, higher than the 5.2 percent recorded in the period from 1996 to last year, the firm said.
It forecast that the CAGR of IC shipments in the period from last year to period will slow to 7 percent, from the 9.5 percent recorded from 1996 to last year.
The average selling price of ICs in the period from 1996 to last year fell by an average 4 percent annually, slowing the production value growth of the global semiconductor sector, the firm said.
It forecast that IC shipments in 2021 will rise to 380 billion units from 192.7 billion units last year, while the average selling price in 2021 is likely to reach US$1.51 (NT$44.54).