Semiconductor Market News (MAY. 06 to MAY. 12)| Modest Growth for Global MLCC Market; AMD Takes CPU Market Share from Intel in Desktops and Servers...

01. First-quarter Global Semiconductor Sales Increased 15.2% Year-to-Year

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today announced worldwide sales of semiconductors totaled $137.7 billion during the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 15.2% compared to the first quarter of 2023 but 5.7% less than the fourth quarter of 2023. Sales for the month of March 2024 decreased 0.6% compared to February 2024. Monthly sales are compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization and represent a three-month moving average. SIA represents 99% of the U.S. semiconductor industry by revenue and nearly two-thirds of non-U.S. chip firms.

“First-quarter global semiconductor sales were significantly higher than the total from the first quarter of last year, but sales slipped somewhat on a month-to-month and quarter-to-quarter basis, reflecting normal seasonal trends,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. “The market is expected to continue to grow during the remainder of the year, with double-digit annual growth projected for 2024.”

Regionally, year-to-year sales in March increased in China (27.4%), the Americas (26.3%), and the Asia Pacific/All Other (11.1%), but decreased in Europe (-6.8%) and Japan (-9.3%).nbsp; Month-to-month sales held even in China, but ticked down in America (-0.1%), Europe (-0.9%), Asia Pacific/All Other (-1.2%), and Japan (-2.0%).

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02. Modest Growth for the Global MLCC Market is Predicted with a 3% Increase Projected in 2024

TrendForce predicts that the demand for MLCCs will grow slowly from 2023 to 2024. In 2023, about 4.193 trillion MLCC units will be needed, with a 3% growth mainly due to their use in smartphones, cars, and computers. However, due to uncertain global conditions, growth is expected to remain modest in 2024, with demand increasing by 3% to around 4.331 trillion units.

Towards the end of the third quarter, companies ordered MLCCs quickly, but by the fourth quarter, they became cautious about stocking up for the holidays, leading to fewer orders for suppliers. Suppliers are now preparing for lower demand in early 2024 due to the off-peak season and global economic challenges.

Although demand for smartphones and computers is improving, overall consumer confidence is still low, affecting the demand for MLCCs. Shipments peaked in September due to increased PC demand, but November is expected to see lower demand.

On the supplier side, Japanese companies like Murata and Taiyo Yuden are doing well, with improved financial reports in the third quarter. They plan to compete aggressively for orders in 2024 by focusing on advanced products and competitive pricing. Other major players like Samsung and Yageo are also reducing prices for high-end MLCC products to stay competitive.

Overall, while the MLCC industry is growing slowly, suppliers' ability to innovate and manage costs will be crucial for success in 2024.

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03. AMD Takes CPU Market Share from Intel in Desktops and Servers, But Intel Fights Back in Laptops

AMD managed to gain both unit and revenue market share in server and consumer PCs in the first quarter of the year as demand for 4th-generation EPYC processors set another record, whereas Ryzen 8000-series processors were popular with makers of desktop PCs and notebooks. A new report from CPU market tracker Mercury Research outlines several of AMDs advances during the quarter.

Mercury noted in their first quarter report that AMD gained significant server and client revenue share driven by growing demand for 4th Gen EPYC and Ryzen 8000 series processors, a statement by AMD shared by the company via email reads.

Looking at the total client market, AMDs unit share in the first quarter of 2024 was 16.3%, whereas its revenue share was 20.6%. While AMDs quarter-over-quarter advances may be considered small, the companys year-over-year increases are nothing but impressive, as the company gained 3.6 percentage points (PP) of unit share and 3.8 PP of the revenue share.

04. NVIDIA Expected To Mass Produce Next-Gen R100 “Rubin” GPUs In Q4 2025: TSMC N3, 8 HBM4 Stacks, 3nm Grace CPU amp; Focus on Power Efficiency

TrendForce analyst Guo Mingji recently updated the forecast for NVIDIA's next-generation AI chip, the R100, named after astronomer Vera Rubin, with mass production expected by the end of 2025.

Guo Mingji speculates that the R100 will use TSMC's N3 process and be packaged in CoWoS-L, while the B100, launched this year, will use TSMC's N4P process and also be CoWoS-L packaged. It is reported that the R100 will use approximately 4 times the mask size, but the size of the Interposer layer has not been finalized, with currently 2-3 options available; there is also a chance for the memory chip to advance to HBM4.

The CPUs for GH200 and GB200 will use TSMC's N5 process, while the GR200 will likely use TSMC's N3 process. Guo Mingji expects NVIDIA to start mass production of the R100 processor in the fourth quarter of 2025, with system and rack solutions expected to start production in the first half of 2026.

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05. Micron Delivers Crucial LPCAMM2 with LPDDR5X Memory for the New AI-Ready Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 Workstation

BOISE, Idaho, May 07, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), today announced the availability of Crucial? LPCAMM2, the disruptive next-generation laptop memory form factor that features LPDDR5X mobile memory to level up laptop performance for professionals and creators. ?Consuming up to 58% less active power1 and with 64% space savings compared to DDR5 SODIMMs,2 LPCAMM2 delivers higher bandwidth and dual-channel support with a single module.

LPCAMM2 is an ideal high-performance memory solution for handling AI PCs and complex workloads and is compatible with the powerful and versatile Lenovo? ThinkPad? P1 Gen 7 mobile workstations.

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06. SK Hynix Subsidiary in China Reportedly to Sell 49.9% Stock to Local Business

On May 9th, it was reported that SK Hynix System IC, a subsidiary of SK Hynix, is selling its equity stake in Wuxi, China. It is expected that in the future, SK Hynix System IC Wuxi will retain a 50.1% stake.

In addition to selling equity, the transaction also includes selling factory facilities and related equipment. Considering SK Hynix's limited production capacity, this is not expected to have a significant impact on its share in global mature process capacity.

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