Author Archives: TrendForce

Panel Prices Will Remain High in 2Q20 Due to the Effect of the Furnace Explosion at AGC Fine Techno Korea, Says TrendForce

Posted on 2021-02-02 by TrendForce

AGC Fine Techno Korea, which is a glass substrate manufacturing plant owned by AGC and located in the South Korean city of Gumi, suffered a furnace explosion that also led to injuries of plant personnel on January 29. TrendForce’s latest investigation projects that this incident will affect no more than 1% of the total global supply of glass substrates for display panels. However, demand is rising across the panel market. At this sensitive moment, any event that affects the supply of panel components could exert significant influence on panel prices. In the second half of 2020, glass substrate supplier NEG (that is based in Japan) experienced issues that constrained the supply and thereby fueled the rise in panel prices. TrendForce does not rule out the possibility that this latest incident will also further bolster panel prices to some degree.

Continue reading →
Posted in Display, Panel Industry | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Panel Prices Will Remain High in 2Q20 Due to the Effect of the Furnace Explosion at AGC Fine Techno Korea, Says TrendForce

Automotive Market Set to Recover in 2021 with Yearly Sales of 84 Million Vehicles, While 12-inch Fab Capacities for Automotive Semiconductor Undergoes Most Severe Shortage, Says TrendForce

Posted on 2021-01-28 by TrendForce

Not only did automotive market take a downward turn starting in 2018, but the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 also led to noticeably insufficient procurement activities from major automotive module suppliers, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. However, as the automotive market is currently set to make a recovery, TrendForce expects yearly vehicle sales to increase from 77 million units in 2020 to 84 million units in 2021. At the same time, the rising popularity of autonomous, connected, and electric vehicles is likely to lead to a massive consumption of various semiconductor components. Even so, since most manufacturers in the automotive supply chain currently possess a relatively low inventory, due to their sluggish procurement activities last year in light of weak demand, the discrepancies in the inventory levels of various automotive components, along with the resultant manufacturing bottleneck, have substantially impaired automakers’ capacity utilization rates and, subsequently, vehicle shipments.

Continue reading →
Posted in Automotive Technologies, Emerging Technologies, Semiconductors, Wafer Foundries | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Automotive Market Set to Recover in 2021 with Yearly Sales of 84 Million Vehicles, While 12-inch Fab Capacities for Automotive Semiconductor Undergoes Most Severe Shortage, Says TrendForce

Strong End-Demand to Result in 8.6% and 46.2% YoY Growths for Smartphone and Tablet TDDI IC Shipments for 2021, Respectively, Says TrendForce

Posted on 2021-01-13 by TrendForce

Given the forecasted recovery of the smartphone market and the corresponding rise in TDDI IC demand throughout this year, total smartphone TDDI IC shipment for 2021 is expected to reach 760 million units, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. Tablet TDDI IC shipment for 2021, on the other hand, is expected to reach 95 million units.

Continue reading →
Posted in Display, IC Design, Semiconductors, Upstream Components | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Strong End-Demand to Result in 8.6% and 46.2% YoY Growths for Smartphone and Tablet TDDI IC Shipments for 2021, Respectively, Says TrendForce

Power Outage at UMC’s Lixing Fabs Results in Large-Scale Voltage Drops in Vicinity, Forecasted to Cause Minor Impact, Says TrendForce

Posted on 2021-01-11 by TrendForce

An abnormality which caused a power outage in the GIS (gas insulated switchgear) equipment at UMC’s facilities on Lixing Road, Hsinchu, resulted in a voltage drop for other fabs located in the surrounding area, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. Affected foundries include TSMC, Vanguard, and PSMC. However, TrendForce’s investigations also reveal that, apart from the temporary power outage at UMC’s Lixing fabs, facilities operated by TSMC, Vanguard, and PSMC experienced only a temporary voltage drop. While the uninterruptible power supplies of the facilities kicked in shortly after the outage, normal manufacturing operations resumed following certain equipment crashes that occurred during the transition from one power source to another. UMC’s Lixing fab has currently resumed operations after about four hours of power outage, and TrendForce expects the impact from this incident to be minimal.

Continue reading →
Posted in Semiconductors, Wafer Foundries | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Power Outage at UMC’s Lixing Fabs Results in Large-Scale Voltage Drops in Vicinity, Forecasted to Cause Minor Impact, Says TrendForce

Global Notebook Computer Shipment Expected to Reach 217 Million Units in 2021, with Chromebooks Accounting for 18.5% of Total Shipment, Says TrendForce

Posted on 2021-01-06 by TrendForce

Owing to the stay-at-home economy brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, not only did yearly notebook computer shipment surpass 200 million units for the first time ever, but the 22.5% YoY growth was also the highest on record, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. However, in comparison with 2Q20, during which production lines resumed operations, and notebook demand saw an uptick, the current global market is plagued by the ever-intensifying pandemic, with various countries instating border control and lockdown measures, making it impossible at the moment to accurately forecast the state of the notebook market in 2H21. Nevertheless, TrendForce currently expects global notebook shipment for 2021 to reach 217 million units, an 8.1% increase YoY. Incidentally, it should be noted that the increasing popularity of distance education has also galvanized a rising demand for Chromebooks, which have contributed substantially to the growth of the overall market. Chromebooks accounted for 14.8% of the global notebook shipment in 2020, while this rate is expected to rise to 18.5% in 2021.

Continue reading →
Posted in Consumer Electronics, Notebook Computers, Semiconductors | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Global Notebook Computer Shipment Expected to Reach 217 Million Units in 2021, with Chromebooks Accounting for 18.5% of Total Shipment, Says TrendForce