Samsung at$13.1bn capex,Intel at$11.2bn,TSMC at$8.3bn,Hynix at$3.7bn and GlobalFoundries at$3.1bn are expected to account for 64%of the$61.4bn in semiconductor capex forecast for 2012,says IC Insights.
Back in 2005,the top 5 companies represented just 40%of total semiconductor industry spending.
Similarly,the top 10 capital spending leaders are now forecast to account for 77%of total industry spending in 2012,a jump of 22 percentage points from 2005 when the top 10 companies represented 55%of spending.
The figures reveal there are fewer suppliers that,on their own,can afford to spend the enormous dollars necessary to build and equip a new fab.As a result,more companies are pursuing the fab-lite or fabless business model and relying on foundries to manufacture their devices.
The$61.4bn capex forecast for 2012 represents a 6%decline from the$65.6bn spent for semiconductor capex in 2011.
Only 6 of 35 leading semiconductor suppliers are forecast to increase their capital expenditure budgets in 2012 compared to 2011,led by Rohm with a 78%increase followed by UMC,26%;SK Hynix,16%;TSMC,13%;Samsung,11%;and Intel,4%.
