The U.S. job openings in September reached their lowest level in nearly three years, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on October 29.

Job openings fell by 418,000 to 7.443 million, marking the lowest level since January 2021, with the job opening rate declining by 0.2 percentage points to 4.5%. This decrease was primarily observed in the healthcare and social assistance sector (-79,000) and government roles (-107,000).

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Hires rose by 128,000 to 5.558 million, with the hiring rate increasing by 0.1 percentage points to 3.5%.
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Total separations rose by 280,000 to 5.196 million, maintaining a separation rate of 3.3%.

Quits dropped by 107,000 to 3.071 million, with the quit rate declining by 0.1 percentage points to 1.9%, the lowest since June 2020. Layoffs, however, rose by 165,000 to 1.833 million, pushing the layoff rate up by 0.2 percentage points to 1.2%, the highest since January 2023.

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Overall, the U.S. labor market continues to show signs of cooling. While employment data from July to September indicates some improvement, this may largely reflect a seasonal increase in short-term labor demand over the summer.

The cooling trend, marked by a decrease in job openings and a steady layoff rate, suggests the labor market remains relatively balanced. Strong economic indicators further reinforce market expectations that the Federal Reserve may proceed with a 0.25% rate cut at the upcoming November 7 meeting.

• Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary

According to TrendForce’s latest memory spot price trend report, regarding DRAM, price trends for DDR5 and DDR4 in the spot market will diverge, and DDR4 is unlikely to experience a price rebound anytime soon. As for NAND flash, Samsung’s recent notification of EOL (End of Life) for MLC products has led to a small price hike for small-capacity MLC eMMC in the spot market, though the phenomenon is likely to be temporal. Details are as follows:

DRAM Spot Price:

The spot market is showing an overall price trend similar to that of the contract market. Spot prices of DDR5 products remain relatively stable, whereas spot quotes for DDR4 products are under significant downward pressure. To avoid subsequent inventory pressure, the three major DRAM suppliers are eager to offload their DDR4 chip inventories. Hence, TrendForce forecasts that price trends for DDR5 and DDR4 in the spot market will diverge, and DDR4 is unlikely to experience a price rebound anytime soon. The average spot price of mainstream chips (i.e., DDR4 1Gx8 2666MT/s) has fallen by 0.94% from US$1.905 last week to US$1.887 this week.

NAND Flash Spot Price:

The competitions of price slashing are becoming even more severe within the spot market as suppliers are rushing to cash out their inventory with the imminent arrival of Chinese New Year. It is worth noting that Samsung’s recent notification of EOL for MLC products has prompted spot traders to control their stocks and clients of industrial/automotive applications to advance in stocking activities, which led to a small price hike for small-capacity MLC eMMC in the spot market. With that said, the aforementioned phenomenon is likely to be temporal since there is still quite a bit of time before the said EOL arrives, and that market provision remains relatively ample. Spot prices will thus continue to drop as a result. Spot prices of 512Gb TLC wafers have dropped by 1.93% this week, arriving at US$2.445.

According to a report from MoneyDJ, citing the Reuters, Intel’s share price has plummeted this year as the company falls behind in the AI race and faces substantial losses in its foundry business.

Intel is set to release its third quarter 2024 earnings report after the U.S. stock market closes on October 31. According to the report from the Reuters, Intel is expected to announce its largest quarterly revenue drop in five quarters, with Wall Street expecting an 8% decline in revenue to USD 13.02 billion, according to data from LSEG compiled as of Oct. 26.

The Reuters indicated that shareholders are now looking to CEO Pat Gelsinger for detailed plans to help the company navigate this crisis, as the company reports significant losses in its foundry business and struggles to capitalize on the generative AI-driven chip boom.

The report from the Reuters highlighted that Intel’s losses in its foundry business are substantial, driven by the high construction costs of fabs. The foundry’s operating loss for the third quarter is estimated to reach USD 2.55 billion, significantly impacting the company’s overall profit.

According to the report from the Reuters, based on estimates compiled by LSEG, Intel is expected to see a decline of more than 7 percentage points in its adjusted gross margin, dropping to 37.9%.

On the other hand, Intel’s revenue from producing chips for AI-powered PCs is also expected to see an annual decline of more than 6% in the third quarter, as its rival AMD expands its AI PC product lineup, according to the Reuters.

Furthermore, the report noted that Intel’s Data Center and AI business group is also losing market share to AMD, with third-quarter revenue expected to decline by 17%, marking ten consecutive quarters of annual declines.

While Intel still holds a significant share of the server CPU market, demand is increasingly shifting toward AI graphics processors, an area where the company has limited presence, as the report from the Reuters pointed out.

Since taking office in 2021, Gelsinger has aimed to restore Intel to its former glory. He made ambitious promises to bring chip manufacturing back to the U.S. and to compete with TSMC in the foundry market. However, according to MoneyDJ, the second-quarter financial report released in August revealed a significant loss of USD 2.8 billion in the foundry business. On that day, the stock price dropped by 26%, marking its worst single-day decline in 50 years.

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• [News] Intel Steps Back from AI Race with NVIDIA, Shifts Focus to Cost-Effective Solutions with Gaudi 3
• [News] Intel Shifts to TSMC for Chip Production: A Looming Threat for AMD?

(Photo credit: Intel)

The U.S. consumer confidence rebounded, achieving its largest gain since March 2021, as labor market conditions improved, according to data released by the Conference Board on October 29.

The Consumer Confidence Index rose to 108.7 in October, marking an increase of 9.7 points from the previous month and achieving its largest gain since March 2021, though it remains below pre-pandemic levels. The Present Situation Index rose 14.2 points to 138, while the Expectations Index climbed 6.3 points to 89.1, reaching its highest level since December 2021.

Dana M. Peterson, Chief Economist at the Conference Board, stated that consumers are optimistic about current business conditions and have shown renewed confidence in the labor market after several months of weakness.

The report indicates that the percentage of consumers who see job opportunities as plentiful increased by 3.8 percentage points to 35.1%, while those who find jobs hard to get declined to 16.8%, widening the gap for the first time since January.

Consumers also expressed greater optimism regarding future business activity and personal financial prospects. The survey indicates that expectations of an economic downturn over the next 12 months are at their lowest level since July 2022, while plans to purchase durable goods, such as homes and automobiles, continue to increase.

Interestingly, interest in the upcoming election appears to be lower than in previous years. Election-related keywords ranked first and second in 2016 and 2020, but for 2024, they fell to fifth, with inflation and price-related keywords now taking precedence.

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• Confidence Rebounded in October as Consumers Regained Faith in the US Economy

The AI boom has boosted the semiconductor industry, increasing the demand for advanced packaging production capacity. According to a report in Economic Daily News, TSMC is rumored to be considering the acquisition of another Innolux plant, particularly its 7th plant in the Southern Taiwan Science Park. However, on October 29, Innolux stated that there are currently no plans to sell the entire plant.

In August this year, TSMC purchased Innolux’s 4th plant in Tainan for NTD 17.14 billion, naming it AP8. It is rumored that TSMC intends to buy another of Innolux’s plants, specifically considering the acquisition of its 7th plant, which is adjacent to the 4th plant that TSMC previously acquired.

However, the report indicated that the management at Innolux holds differing opinions on the sale of its 7th plant and has been unable to reach a consensus.

Innolux’s 7th plant features a 7.5-generation production line primarily dedicated to manufacturing TV panels, and various energy-saving, water-saving, and waste reduction measures were implemented, as mentioned by the report.

As for the plant that TSMC previously acquired from Innolux, the AP8, according to a report by China Times, is expected to start production in the second half of 2025. More importantly, the fab will not only provide foundry services but also the eagerly needed capacity for advanced 3D Chip on Wafer on Substrate (CoWoS) IC packaging services, as the report noted.

The move will be critical for TSMC to meet the surging demand for the advanced packaging capacity for AI servers, according to the report. Its future capacity will reportedly be nine times that of AP6, TSMC’s advanced packaging fab in Zhunan, as the report from China Times noted.

Regarding the current situation of Innolux, its Q3 financial report showed disappointing results. According to a report from Commercial Times, the company recently announced its financial performance for the third quarter of 2024. Due to a decline in TV panel revenue, Innolux recorded a net loss.

According to its press release, consolidated revenue for the third quarter was NTD 55.473 billion, a quarter-on-quarter decrease of 2.4%, while the gross profit margin fell to 9%. The company posted a net operating loss of NTD 790 million, with net profit of approximately NTD 494 million, resulting in a net profit per share of about NTD 0.05.

In 3Q24, the company shipped 6.08 million square meters of total panel, a decrease of 9.3% quarter-on-quarter.

According to its press release, looking ahead to the fourth quarter of 2024, Innolux noted that the timing has entered the traditional off-season for panels. However, China’s new subsidy policy may boost the demand for TV sets. While TV panel prices are expected to remain stable, demand for IT panels is anticipated to slow down.

According to the Commercial Times report, Innolux projects that shipments of large-size panels will decrease by 5% to 9% in the fourth quarter, with the average unit price of shipments declining by less than 5%. In contrast, shipments of small and medium-sized panels are expected to grow by 15% to 19%.

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• [News] TSMC’s Newly Acquired AP8 Facility in Southern Taiwan Rumored to Start Production in 2H25
• [News] TSMC Acquires Innolux’s Plant in Southern Taiwan to Expand Advanced Packaging Capacity

(Photo credit: TSMC)