Biggest Long-term Growth Expected for Taiwan and Southeast Asia
According to the World Fab Forecast report, recently released by SEMI, spending on worldwide fabs equipping is expected to show declines of about 17 percent in 2008, as more companies are forced to postpone fab projects due to global economic uncertainties. In 2009, however, the group expects to see a rebound with double-digit growth of over 12 percent.
Regions reflecting this trend most dramatically include Southeast Asia and Taiwan, who will likely experience declines of 40 percent and 33 percent respectively this year, but are expected to recover in 2009 with significant positive growth of over 50 percent and 80 percent respectively.
In the Americas, fab equipment spending is expected to decline over the next two years, while China and the Europe/Mideast are expected to see growth both years. Spending in Japan and South Korea is projected to remain slow, but should improve from negative double digits in 2008, to negative single digits in 2009.
The biggest three spenders in 2008 for equipping fabs are Samsung, Flash Alliance and Intel. Though most companies are investing in non-US fab opportunities, Samsung is making significant investment into its 300mm megafabs in Austin, Texas, and Intel continues to invest in its Arizona and New Mexico fabs. In 2009, Rexchip, TSMC, UMC, Promos and Hynix are expected to join Samsung, Flash Alliance and Intel as key spenders on fab equipping.
In the regional construction of new fabs, only Southeast Asia and South Korea are expected to show positive growth in 2008. Southeast Asia should see greater than 160 percent growth in spending on fab construction projects, due mainly to IM Flash's plan for a new megafab in Singapore.
After a year of very strong capacity growth in 2007 of about 17 percent, global fab capacity is projected to slow slightly, but is expected to post growth in the high single to low double-digits over the next two years. In addition, the overall capacity of volume fabs for 300mm is expected to surpass 200mm capacity by the third quarter of 2008. Looking forward, capacity for 200mm volume fabs will remain at the same level, while capacity for 300mm volume fabs is expected to grow consistently in the double digits with over 2.5 times less fabs.
The SEMI World Fab Forecast provides high level summaries and graphs; in-depth analyses of capital expenditure, capacity, technology and products, down to the detail of each fab; and forecasts for the next 18 months. These tools are invaluable for understanding how 2009 will look, and learning more about capex for construction projects, fab equipping, technology level, and products.
Please visit www.semi.org/fabs for additional information on these reports.
My number one pick in this sector would be NVEC
Introduction
The triangle pattern, also called the "coil," appears in three varieties:
1. symmetrical, 2. ascending, and 3. descending.
Generally, a triangle pattern is considered to be a continuation or consolidation pattern. Sometimes, however, the formation marks a reversal of a trend.
Symmetrical triangles are generally considered neutral, ascending triangles are bullish, and descending triangles are bearish. From a time perspective, triangles are usually considered to be intermediate patterns. Usually, it takes longer than a month to form a triangle. Seldom will a triangle last longer than three months. If a triangle pattern does take longer than three months to complete, Murphy advises that the formation will take on major trend significance.
What does a symmetrical triangle look like?
Converging trendlines of support and resistance gives the triangle pattern its distinctive shape. This occurs, Kahn explains, because "the trading action gets tighter and tighter until the market breaks out with great force." Buyers and sellers find themselves in a period where they are not sure where the market is headed. Their uncertainty is marked by their actions of buying and selling sooner, making the pattern look like an increasingly tight coil moving across the chart.
As the range between the peaks and troughs marking the progression of price narrows, the trendlines meet at the "apex," located at the right of the chart. The "base" of the triangle is the vertical line at the left of the chart which measures the vertical height of the pattern.
To Review The Entire NVEC Update Click Here
