Pure play foundry sales dominated by 28nm

Although forecast to represent 78% of total pure play foundry sales this year, the 28nm pure play foundry market is expected to decline by 3% in 2013. In contrast, the 2013 leading edge 28nm pure play foundry market is forecast to triple this year. TSMC had almost $1.5billion in 28nm sales in the second quarter of 2013, and is forecast to have about $6.33bn in sales of 28nm devices for all of 2013, more than three times the $2.10bn worth of 28nm product the company sold in 2012. As a result, the company is expected to hold a 78% share of the pure play foundry industry's $8.10bn of 28nm sales this year. IC Insights believes the more profitable major pure play foundries, including TSMC, GlobalFoundries, UMC, and SMIC, will be those that keep at the leading edge of the process technology roadmap. This can be accomplished, it says, through joint ventures and licensing agreements and/or through significantly increasing R&D spending to develop advanced technology, as TSMC has done.