Owing to the gradual legalization of marijuana cultivation and the pandemic-induced surge of recreational and medical marijuana markets in North America, horticultural LED has become one of the fastest-growing lighting markets in 2020, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. Moreover, as the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the food supply chain starts to surface, capital expenditure (CAPEX) for indoor agricultural infrastructure has once again shown an upward momentum due to the rising demand for equipment replacement and procurement, resulting in a rapid growth in enterprise orders for horticultural LED. Global yearly horticultural LED revenue is expected to reach US $158 million in 2020, a 39.7% increase YoY.
DRAM suppliers’ bit shipments exceeded expectations due to the demand surge from prior to the September 15 deadline of U.S. sanctions prohibiting the shipment of tech products to Huawei, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. During that period, Huawei was aggressively building up its component inventory in response to the tightening of the export control rules. All suppliers posted a QoQ growth in their bit shipments. On the other hand, DRAM prices also made a downward turn in 3Q20. Among the different application segments of the DRAM market, the server DRAM segment exhibited the weakest procurement momentum due to server manufacturers experience excess inventory, leading to a general decline in DRAM prices. For most suppliers, the growth in bit shipments was not enough to offset the drop in quotes. Their quarterly revenues therefore registered a marginal QoQ decline. However, Micron managed to post a significant revenue growth despite headwinds, and its result helped raise the entire industry’s performance. In sum, the quarterly global DRAM revenue for 3Q20 increased by 2.0% QoQ to US$17.46 billion.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s negative impact on the global economy, several emergent trends, such as WFH, distance education, rising 5G smartphone penetration, and strong component demand from telecom infrastructure build-out, have resulted in a bullish semiconductor market against economic headwinds, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. Global foundry revenue is projected to undergo a 23.8% increase YoY in 2020, the highest percentage in 10 years.
Demand for end-devices saw a continued growth due to the rise of the stay-at-home economy brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2Q20, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. As U.S. sanctions against shipping chips manufactured with U.S. equipment and technologies to Huawei took effect on September 15, various OSAT companies rushed to make deliveries prior to the September 15 deadline. Driven by this wave of urgent orders, the top 10 largest OSAT companies’ quarterly revenue reached US$6.759 billion in 3Q20, a 12.9% increase YoY.
Owing to the rise of the stay-at-home economy brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, yearly Apple MacBook shipment for 2020 is expected to reach 15.5 million units, a 23.1% increase YoY, according to TrendForce’s latest investigations. Thanks to the November 11 release of the new Mac models and the Apple Silicon M1 processor, MacBook shipment is expected to set a record high in 2021 by reaching 17.1 million units and potentially growing by more than 10% YoY.