SAN JOSE, USA: Worldwide shipments for polysilicon consumed in the manufacture of both semiconductor and solar cell wafers reached 43,901 metric tons for the year, according to the SEMI. Total polysilicon shipments increased quarterly throughout 2008 as new capacity came online.

"Despite the slowdown in semiconductor activity late last year, polysilicon shipments for the 4th quarter still grew about 7 percent versus the previous quarter," said Dan P. Tracy, senior director of Industry Research and Statistics at SEMI. "This reflected the continued strong demand across the other major consuming sector, the photovoltaic industry. With the onset of new capacities coming on-line this year, solar should be free of its perennial bottleneck. Combined with friendly policies now in place, the industry can be in an enviable position of driving economic recovery."

Quarterly Polysilicon Volume Shipment Trends-Metric Tons

Polysilicon is the fundamental building material for both semiconductor and solar cell wafers. Data is collected quarterly by SEMI as part of a data collection program that includes participation by DC Chemical, Hemlock Semiconductor Corp., MEMC Electronic Materials Inc., REC Silicon, Tokuyama Corp., and Wacker Chemie.

All data cited in this release are net shipments (gross shipments minus all returns) of polysilicon, including CZ Prime, CZ Offgrade, Float Zone (FZ) and Solar.

Source: SEMI, USA