As demand for semiconductor products has continued picking up, their supply has also grown tighter. Foundries' supply of automotive MCUs, storage controller chips and power management ICs has already fallen short of demand by 25-40%, while HPC, server and 5G networking chips are also seeing insufficient supply of high-end ABF substrates due partly to low yield rates. Automotive chip makers have also been pushing keenly to obtain services from foundries as the automotive industry has started to recover.
Foundries see supply for auto chips fall far short of demand: Pure-play foundries have seen their supply for automotive ICs, including MCUs, storage controller chips and power management ICs, fall short of demand by 25-40%, according to industry sources.
High-end ABF substrates in increasingly short supply for HPC, server chips: The supply of more lucrative high-end ABF substrates for use in HPC, server and 5G networking chips has been increasingly short of demand due partly to insufficient yield rates at IC substrate suppliers, squeezing suppliers' capacity allocation for ABF substrates needed to process notebook processors long in shortage, according to industry sources.
More automotive chipmakers seek foundry support amid tight capacity: More automotive chipmakers have approached Taiwan-based foundry houses TSMC, UMC and Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) seeking capacity support to meet a ramp-up in automotive chip demand from automakers who are recovering from the pandemic-induced factory shutdowns, according to industry sources.