Silicon industry revenues fell to $10.4 billion in 2001

Silicon wafer area shipments fell 29% and silicon industry revenues declined 31% in 2001, according to figures from Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International.

Silicon wafer area shipments declined to 3.9 billion square inches, down from 5.6 billion square inches shipped in 2000, the trade organisation said. Revenues fell to $10.4 billion, down from $15 billion in 2000.

In the fourth quarter, silicon area shipments rose nearly 7% sequentially, SEMI said. But at only 878 million square inches, they were still more than 39% below last year's figures.

"Silicon area shipments last year declined to the lowest annual level since 1998," said Stanley Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "The silicon industry experienced considerable consolidation and capacity reduction last year, and most new investment was made in the area of 300mm wafers. Concern remains regarding the silicon industry's ability to support 200mm and smaller diameter wafer demands as we face the inevitable upturn."

In the fourth quarter, 878 million square inches were shipped, compared with 824 million square inches in the previous quarter and 1.4 billion square inches in the year-ago quarter. Polished wafers accounted for 681 million square inches, compared with 636 million square inches in the third quarter and 1.1 billion square inches a year ago.

Epitaxial wafer shipments totalled 160 million square inches, down from 149 million square inches in the third quarter and 306 million square inches in the fourth quarter of 2000. And finally, non-polished wafers accounted for 37 million square inches, compared with 39 million square inches in the previous quarter and 70 million square inches in the year-ago quarter.