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The CEO of UMC, Taiwan’s 2nd biggest chip foundry, said its blended average selling price will rise about 10% in 2027 and he expects a utilization rate over 90%, media report, adding AI will reach 25% of revenue within 3-years. UMC set its 2026 capex plan at US$2 billion, but the board also approved another US$3.2 billion in capex for an unspecified time period. $United Microelectronics(UMC.US) #Semiconductors
Source: Dan Nystedt
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry will account for 30% of the nation’s total electricity consumption by 2035, and state-run TaiPower plans to invest NT$30 billion (US$920M) over 15-years to strengthen direct power delivery to industrial parks to meet demand, media report.
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is expected to consume 110 billion kWh of power by 2035, up from 52 billion kWh this year. To meet this massive increase, TaiPower will build or expand 43 substations, add 1,922-kilometers of new transmission lines, and increase transformer capacity by 52,450 MVA (MegaVolt-Ampere). $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US) $United Microelectronics(UMC.US) $Advanced Semiconductor Engineering(ASX.US)Source: Dan Nystedt
Taiwan's semiconductor exports in September rose 46.1% year-on-year to US$29.74 billion, raising January thru September to $220.0B, up 47.3%, and leading Taiwan exports to an all-time high for a single month in September.
Overall exports rose 60.9% to $87.22 billion, led by expanding AI-related business opportunities and strong sales in the traditional peak season for technology goods, media report, while imports also hit a record high, rising 51.7% to $63.59 billion.IT and Audio/visual exports rose 103% to $39.13 billion, a category that includes AI servers, general servers, PCs, and graphics cards, while electronics component exports, including semiconductors, rose 45.3% to $31.13B $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US) $United Microelectronics(UMC.US) $Advanced Semiconductor Engineering(ASX.US)Source: Dan Nystedt
UMC’s sales in September rose 27.2% to a fresh record high NT$25.35 billion, media report, sending third quarter sales up 25.56% to NT$74.24 billion, the 2nd best quarter ever and a 4-year high. $United Microelectronics(UMC.US) #semiconductors
Source: Dan Nystedt
UMC and Powerchip are planning big price hikes for mature chip production amid continued strong demand and transfer orders as TSMC phases out older fabs, media report, with UMC planning a “substantial” price hike and Powerchip looking at up to a 40% hike. Vanguard (VIS) has also seen demand surge, mainly as it is seen as the key winner of business from TSMC’s move away from legacy nodes. TSMC holds nearly a 30% stake in VIS, a longtime partner. $United Microelectronics(UMC.US) $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US) #PSMC #VIS #semiconductors
Source: Dan Nystedt
UMC, Taiwan’s 2nd biggest foundry, saw August revenue rise 30.7% year-on-year to NT$25.05 billion, nearly a 47-month high, media report, adding executives cited strong demand for power management chips (PMICs), sensors and microcontrollers were expected to lift 3rd quarter revenue 7%-9% vs the 2nd quarter. $United Microelectronics(UMC.US) #semiconductors
Source: Dan Nystedt
Taiwan’s July export orders rose 61.9% year-on-year to a fresh record high US$97.94 billion and beating the expected 52.7% increase, media report. The US led all others with orders up 88.9% to $40.79B, the fastest pace of growth ever. Orders for IT/communications products, including servers & networking gear, rose 89.5% to $33.27B on strong AI and cloud service demand, while Electronics Products, including semiconductors and chip manufacturing services, rose 71.7% to $41.32 billion. In August, officials see export orders nearing $100B, up 61.4% - 64.8%. $Taiwan Semiconductor(TSM.US) $United Microelectronics(UMC.US) $Advanced Semiconductor Engineering(ASX.US) #Foxconn #Quanta #Wistron
Source: Dan Nystedt
AI is driving strong demand for mature process chip manufacturing, so more price hikes are on the way, media report. Last week, China’s top chip foundry SMIC said it hiked 3rd quarter prices on key technologies. Taiwan media say 15%-20% price increases this year are just the beginning – more are in store for 2027. Taiwan’s UMC, Vanguard International (VIS) and Powerchip all face upside next year as utilization rates continue to rise and AI-related demand remains strong. $United Microelectronics(UMC.US) $GlobalFoundries(GFS.US) $SkyWater Tech(SKYT.US) #semiconductors
Source: Dan Nystedt
Prices for the production of older chips (mature processes) will rise even higher next year than this amid strong AI-related demand, media report, citing Taiwan chip foundries. Vanguard (VIS) said 2027 prices will outpace this year due to AI, and UMC and Powerchip (PSMC) both said they too would continue raising prices. VIS Chairman Leuh Fang said AI is driving strong demand for power management chips (PMICs) and discretes, and the shortage will run into 2027. $United Microelectronics(UMC.US) #VIS #PSMC #semiconductors
Source: Dan Nystedt
UMC, Taiwan’s 2nd biggest chip foundry, has raised its capex to US$2 billion from $1.5 billion as it expands production in Singapore and Tainan, south Taiwan, media report. UMC will expand cleanroom capacity of its Phase 4 facility in Singapore and build a new fab in Tainan. Construction of the new fab is expected to take 20-months. UMC also said it plans to spend at least $5 billion over 3-years, including the $2B this year. $United Microelectronics(UMC.US) $Applied Materials(AMAT.US) $ASML(ASML.US) $Lam Research(LRCX.US) $KLA(KLAC.US) #semiconductors
Source: Dan Nystedt
