Apr 14 2009
Leading indicators from twenty-eight percent of countries in our database turned up in February, signaling an upturn in business cycles that will ultimately translate to an upturn in semiconductor equipment purchases, according to the report "The Global Market for Equipment and Materials for IC Manufacturing," recently published by The Information Network, a New Tripoli, PA-based market research company.
“Our proprietary leading indicators, which determine inflection points in economic activity and which we utilize to show turning points in semiconductor equipment sales five months out, turned positive in eight of 29 countries we track,” noted Dr. Robert N. Castellano, president of The Information Network.
On a global basis, which more accurately correlates with equipment purchases, The Information Network anticipates that business cycles for another 10 countries will turn up next month, giving a clearer picture of when the inflection point for semiconductor equipment sales will occur.
“We have been using these indicators since 2000 and they have proven to be highly quantitative metrics in every forecast we have given, and in nearly every given year we have not had to change our forecast midstream,” added Dr. Castellano. “We do not give forecasts in tenths of percentages only to change them 2 months later.”
Record low inventories while 300-mm fab utilization above 80% will necessitate the need for more equipment.
Details of the report are on the company’s web site at www.theinformationnet.com