Widening Gap
The sales volume of the top 10 foundries (semiconductor subcontract manufacturing) globally shrunk by 18.6% from the previous quarter. While the market share of Taiwan’s TSMC, the top player, exceeded 60%, Samsung Electronics’ share dropped to the 12% range.
On June 12, market research firm TrendForce reported that the sales volume of the top 10 foundry operators in Q1 contracted by 18.6% from the previous quarter, recording US$27.33 billion.
TrendForce explained that this result stemmed from reduced demand due to a semiconductor industry downturn, as well as the impact of the off season. The company released an analysis report stating that sales also decreased as both the operating rates and shipment volumes of the top 10 companies declined.
As the magnitude of sales decreases varied by company, there were changes in the rankings. U.S.-based GlobalFoundries, which was fourth in the previous quarter, overtook Taiwan's UMC to record third place. Israel's Tower Semiconductor, which was eighth, surpassed Taiwan's PSMC to rise to the seventh position.
The gap between Taiwan's TSMC and Samsung Electronics, the first and second operators, widened further. TSMC’s Q1 sales fell by 16.2% from the previous quarter to $16.735 billion, but its market share rose by 1.6 percentage points to 60.1%. Samsung Electronics, on the other hand, saw its sales plummet by 36.1% to US$3.446 billion, recording a market share of 12.4%, down by 3.4 percentage points.
TrendForce stated, “TSMC's operating rate for 7/6 nanometers and 5/4 nanometers processes fell by more than 20% due to weakened demand for laptops and smartphones.” They added, “Samsung Electronics saw a decrease in Q1 sales due to a reduction in the operating rate of both 8-inch and 12-inch wafers.”