Wafer fab closures projected to grow in the coming years

According to the latest data from IC Insights, chipmakers closed or repurposed 83 wafer fabs from 2009 to 2014. Expectedly, smaller diameter sizes at 150mm and 200mm were responsible for two-thirds of the closures Some 41 per cent of fab closures since 2009 have been 150mm fabs and 27 per cent have been 200mm wafer fabs.

Qimonda was the first company to close a 300mm wafer fab after it went out of business in early 2009 and more recently, ProMOS and Powerchip closed 300mm wafer fabs in 2013.

By chronology the worldwide fab closures surged in 2009 and 2010 partly as a result of the severe economic recession at the end of the previous decade. A total of 25 fabs were closed in 2009, followed by 24 being shut down in 2010. Ten fabs closed in 2012 and 12 were removed from service in 2013. Six fabs were closed in both 2011 and in 2014, the fewest number of closures per year during the 2009-2014 time span.

IC Insights expects the number of fab closures to accelerate in the coming years.

- Peter Clarke
??EE Times Europe