New demands for automotive electronics, internet of things, etc., market conditions for chips are expected to tend to balance supply and demand

Due to the emergence of new demands in automotive electronics and internet of things, there will be shortages in some semiconductor production chains in 2017. Not only will upstream silicon wafers and lead frame materials be out of stock, but also DRAM, NANDFlash, and NORFlash will be out of stock, and will be under micro-control. Devices (MCUs) and MOSFETs have also been extended due to stock-outs or prices have been increasing. The imbalance between supply and demand is hard to come by. Here's a look at the relevant content along with automotive electronics Xiaobian.

In 2018, silicon wafers and lead frames are still in short supply, and prices will continue to increase. DRAM and MOSFETs will be out of stock. The MCU delivery period is expected to be shortened due to entering the off-season. However, the delivery period is still generally considered. Up to 3 months, 1 to 1.5 months higher than normal safety inventory. As for NAND/NORFlash, due to the new production capacity, the shortage pressure will be relieved.

In terms of semiconductor silicon wafers, due to the fact that major suppliers have not expanded production in recent years, this year we are experiencing a large amount of wafer production capacity in semiconductor plants. We will be out of stock in 2017 and we will be in short supply in 2018; to ensure 2018 The supply of silicon wafers is flawless. The pre-paid deposit method adopted by the global semiconductor giants will ensure the supply of goods for the next year, and the prices will increase every quarter. Legal persons are optimistic about the operation of silicon wafer suppliers such as Global Wafer, Hejing, Jiajing and Taiwan Seiketsu.

Semiconductor leadframes also face shortage problems. As the international IDM plant is rushing to attack the automotive electronics and IoT market, the demand for lead frames has greatly increased. However, the major suppliers have continued to consolidate in recent years. In the second half of this year, the supply has become tight and will be slightly out of stock in the first half of next year. The price is expected to be low. Continued growth is very beneficial to Changhua Branch, Jie Lin and other suppliers.

In the memory sector, DRAM will be out of stock in the second half of the year and will continue to be out of stock in the first half of next year. Although the industry intends to increase production capacity, the new production capacity will start at the end of next year and early next year. Therefore, the supply of DRAM will increase in the first half of 2018. Can only rely on 1x nano-upgrade, the overall demand is still in short supply, prices continue to rise, South Asia Branch, Winbond, A-DATA, etc. will continue to benefit.

The shortage of NANDFlash and NORFlash in the first half of next year will be resolved. Including Samsung, Toshiba, SK Hynix, and Micron to accelerate 3D NAND production capacity and technology conversion in the second half of the year, the yield rate has continued to increase. After the production capacity is released next year, it will be fully available. NORFlash is also due to the storage of the Yangtze River and SMIC's production capacity. Together with Powerchip's investment in the OEM market, the production capacity will increase in the first half of next year and the demand side will enter the traditional off-season. The market conditions are expected to balance supply and demand.

As for the MCU market, a large number of MCU architectures were introduced into automotive electronics and the Internet of Things. However, IDM plants, including Italian, German, Renesas, etc., were not able to meet the demand. As a result, the delivery period was substantially extended to more than 3 months. Some of the stocks were severely out of stock. The number of items is due for up to six months. As terminal demand enters the off-season in the first half of next year, and with support for foundry capacity, the delivery period is expected to shrink to less than three months, but it is still 1 to 1.5 months longer than the safe delivery period. Benefited from the transfer order, the first half of next year will not be light in the off-season.

The International IDM Plant has gradually faded out the low-voltage MOSFET market for computers and consumer electronics. The production capacity has shifted to the automotive high voltage MOSFET market, or to IGBT or SuperJunction components. Therefore, in the second half of the year, the medium- and low-voltage MOSFETs are seriously out of stock. In the first half of next year, due to lack of new capacity support, the supply shortage will still be maintained, but the shortage gap will be reduced. Legal persons are optimistic about the operating performance of Nexen, Dazhong, and Fuding.