Caution prevails as storm clouds continue to gather
The Chip Insider®
Semiconductor Equipment Weather Report: March 31, 2020
Caution prevails as storm clouds continue to gather
- Order activity for semiconductor equipment continued to trend lower, slipping to 57 degrees
- Although the rate decline in order activity has moderated in the last two weeks the level of uncertainty among chipmakers and equipment suppliers is high
- Equipment suppliers have not seen a significant reduction in demand yet; however, tool delivery in some areas has been challenging due to ongoing lockdown
- In some cases, chipmakers have pulled in their orders in Q1 in order to avoid delivery disruptions from the lockdowns
- Chipmakers' visibility in the near term is fairly limited
- The impact of work-at-home economy has been positive for chipmakers, keeping their financials nearly intact in Q1
- However, their prospects in Q2 will become more challenging as the impact of the recession permeates
- The span and depth of the recession will be highly dependent on how fast the COVID-19 pandemic subsides
- The Chip Price Performance Index (CPPI) tumbled
- DRAM plunged
- NAND slid
- MPUs declined