SAN FRANCISCO—Globalfoundries Inc. is expected to surpass United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) to become the No. 2 semiconductor foundry supplier in 2012, according to projected ranking of foundry vendors released this week by market research firm IC Insights Inc.
Globalfoundries (Milpitas, Calif.) is expected to achieve foundry sales of $4.29 billion in 2012, up 23 percent from 2011, according to a mid-year update of
IC Insights' McClean Report. UMC, long the No. 2 ranked foundry by sales, is expected to report sales for the year of about $3.78 billion, roughly flat with 2011, according to the report.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) is expected to remain by far the dominant player in foundry, with sales projected to increase 15 percent this year to $16.72 billion, according to the report.
IC Insights noted that TSMC's projected foundry sales for the year are roughly four times the projected sales of No. 2 vendor Globalfoundries. By the same token, Globalfoundries' 2012 sales are expected to be more than twice as large as China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC), the No. 5 ranked foundry, the firm said.
Globalfoundries has been claiming to be the No. 2 foundry in sales since the fourth quarter of last year. Unlike TSMC and UMC, Globalfoundries is not a publicly traded company and doesn't report sales numbers, making it more difficult for analysts to ascertain its position in the market.
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