TSMC continues to command over 50% share of global pure foundry market

Taipei, Sept. 4 (CNA) Contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) continued to command more than 50 percent of the global pure wafer foundry market in the second quarter of this year, according to Taipei-based market information advisory firm TrendForce Corp.

In a research paper, TrendForce said TSMC generated US$13.30 billion in sales in the second quarter, up 3.1 percent from a quarter earlier, to take a 52.9 percent share of the global market.

TSMC's second quarter market share was down from its 54.5 percent in the first quarter, but the company still remained the world's largest contract chipmaker, TrendForce said.

The company's sales growth was compromised by interruptions in the power supply in southern Taiwan in April and May, which impacted production of the chipmaker's eight-inch chips in the Southern Taiwan Science Park, TrendForce added.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics Corp. was in second place with a market share of 17.3 percent, down from 17.4 percent in the first quarter, according to TrendForce.

The advisory firm said Samsung posted US$4.33 billion in sales in the second quarter, up 5.5 percent from a quarter earlier on the back of strong demand for 5G applications and drive ICs used in flat panels despite a production cut in its Texas plant due to blizzards, TrendForce said.

United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), Taiwan's second largest contract chipmaker, saw its global market share rise to 7.2 percent in the second quarter from 7.1 percent in the first quarter and remained the third largest contract chip maker in the world, due to its higher production utilization rate, the advisory firm said.

UMC posted US$1.82 billion in sales in the April-June period, up 8.5 percent from a quarter earlier, the advisory firm added.

U.S.-based GlobalFoundries Inc. took fourth spot in the second quarter after generating US$1.52 billion in sales, up 17 percent from a year earlier, accounting for 6.1 percent of global total revenue, TrendForce said.

In the same three month period, China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) posted US$1.34 billion in sales, up 21.8 percent from a quarter earlier to take a 5.3 percent share of the global market, TrendForce added.

China's Huahong Group posted US$658 million in sales to take a 2.6 percent share of the world market, making it the world's sixth largest contract chip maker, in the second quarter, followed by Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (PSMC) and Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp. (VIS) ranked No. 7 and No.8. according to the research note.

PSMC posted US$459 million in sales in the second quarter, accounting for 1.8 percent of the global total, while VIS generated US$363 million in revenue, accounting for 1.4 percent of the total, TrendForce said.

Israel's Tower Semiconductor Ltd. came in ninth with US$362 million in sales in the second quarter ahead of South Korea's DB HiTek Co Ltd., which posted US$245 million in sales, TrendForce added.

TrendForce said riding the wave of a supply shortage, contract chipmakers are expected to see their production capacity fully booked in the third quarter and sales are expected to top the levels seen in the second quarter.