TAIPEI: Heralding a forthcoming growth phase for the IC ASP scene, wafer fab capacity utilization is being foreseen as returning to pre-crisis levels. The good news has been revealed by IC insights in its recent research.

To add colour to the rosy picture, it has also been reported that SEMI has revised upward its fab spending forecast for 2010, thereby bringing to the fore industry players’ ambitious plans aimed at more investment.

It has been forecast that industry-wide wafer fab capacity utilization will zoom in a big way by the third and fourth quarters of the current year. The research findings reveal that the numbers would touch levels seen prior to when the slowdown set in.

As per the research findings, the capacity utilization rate is most likely to touch 88 per cent in the third quarter, which would be a rise from 57 per cent recorded during the first quarter of the current year. It has also been pointed out that the strengthening of IC capacity utilization rates has led to tremendous capex cutbacks in 2008 and 2009. Such a scenario will prompt IC ASPs to rebound with annual increases of 5 per cent forecast between 2010 and 2012, the research has found.

At the same time, original equipment makers have begun replenishing inventory levels ever since the second quarter, when the average fab utilization rate was encouraged to rebound 21 percentage points to 78 per cent, the research findings revealed. It is now being estimated that the capacity utilization rate for the entire global recession year of 2009 will plummet to 77.4 per cent levels.