Taiwan's wafer production capacity highest in world in 2011

TAIPEI (CNA) -- Taiwan had the most installed wafer production capacity of any country in the world for the first time ever in 2011, surpassing Japan and South Korea, according to IC Insights.

In a report released earlier this week, IC Insights, the U.S.-based semiconductor research firm, said Taiwan had the capacity to produce 2.86 million eight-inch equivalent wafers per month last year, accounting for 21 percent of global capacity.
The figure was higher than Japan's 19.7 percent and South Korea's 16.8 percent, IC Insights said. Japan's monthly capacity stood at 2.68 million eight-inch equivalent wafers, ahead of South Korea's 2.29 million units.
The growth in Taiwan's wafer capacity was the result of expansion by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), the top two contract chip makers in the world.
According to TSMC, its annual capacity in 2011 rose 17 percent from a year earlier to 12.97 million eight-inch equivalent wafers. UMC had an annual capacity of 5.32 million eight-inch equivalent units in 2011, up 11 percent from 2010.
In Taiwan, 12-inch wafers accounted for 64.6 percent of its total capacity last year, eight-inch wafers made up 29.2 percent and six-inch wafers represented another 6.1 percent, IC Insights said.
In 2011, Taiwan had a 25.4 percent share of global 12-inch wafer capacity, an 18.7 percent global share of eight-inch wafer capacity, and 11.4 percent global share of six-inch wafer capacity, the research firm said.
Meanwhile, the Americas ranked fourth in overall capacity in 2011, commanding a monthly capacity of 1.995 million eight-inch equivalent wafers, or 14.7 percent of the world's total.
China was fifth with a monthly wafer capacity of 1.21 million eight-inch equivalent units, making up 8.9 percent of the world's total.
IC Insights said monthly capacity in Europe totaled 1.11 million units or 8.1 percent of the global total.
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