http://news.techeye.net/chips/sia-reports-semi-sales-up
According to the latest statistics from the
Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), there has been a six percent
quarterly boost in sales, topping the expected industry forecast.
Quarterly
sales reached $74.65 billion for Q2 2013, up from the first quarter's
$70.45 billion. The SIA claims this is the largest quarterly increase in
three years. Global sales for June 2013 were $28.8 billion, a 2.1
percent increase compared to the same time last year and 0.8 percent
higher than May. Sales in the Americas grew 8.6 percent in June 2013
compared to last year.
These were higher than predictions by
industry group the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics, which expected
quarterly growth of 4.6 percent globally and 3.4 percent for the
Americas.
Total year to dates sales were at $145.1 billion, above
the WSTS' expected $144.1 billion, and in June were 1.5 percent higher
than the same time in 2012.
For the month of June, compared to
May, there was sales growth in the APAC region of 0.4 percent and a
dismal 0.1 percent in Europe, and a 0.9 percent decline in Japan. But
this was still 5.4 percent and 0.8 percent growth for APAC and Europe,
respectively.
Though together the results are strong enough, individually some SIA members may have reason to worry. Take Intel - its net profit in the quarter ending July 2013 dipped 29 percent , down 5.1 percent year on year and way below market estimates. AMD, meanwhile, posted a loss.
CEO
of SIA, Brian Toohey, commented positively, saying in a statement:
"There's no question the global semiconductor industry has picked up
steam through the first half of 2013, led largely by the Americas.
"We
have now seen consistent growth on a monthly, quarterly, and
year-to-year basis, and sales totals have exceeded the latest industry
projection," Toohey said, adding that memory products sold particularly
well.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
How money and markets are shaking up semiconductors
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/08/05/semiconductor-industry-minyanville/2618625/
For every dollar they earned in the first half of 2013, Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Co. spent $1.40 in capital investments. That's a lopsided number, and a sign of how competitive the semiconductor industry has become. At one time, TSMC dominated the independent foundry business, churning out everything from graphics cards to smartphone chipsets. In recent years it has become a three-horse race, with Samsung Electronics and Globalfoundries carving out large portions of the market, and Intel threatening to open things up even further with a move into mobile processors.
Both TSMC and Intel hope that, by throwing enough money at the problem, they can distance themselves from the competition. For Intel, this might be true. "Chipzilla" has a fat wallet, and a position in the PC industry that guarantees a decent return on its investment. TSMC has neither advantage, and may struggle to get ahead in the rapidly evolving mobile industry.
For both companies, costs are rising.
Gartner estimates this growth at 7%-10% annually, and predicts that by 2016, a capex budget of $8-$10 billion will be de rigueur for chipmakers like TSMC. Intel is naturally happy about this, and former CEO Paul Otellini speculated last year that new technologies -- such as 450mm wafers, which are expected to be more cost-effective than today's industry-standard 300mm, and EUV, or "extreme ultraviolet lithography," an up-and-coming technology that Intel hopes will allow it to further miniaturize its processors -- would cut the competition by half. "We've got [a] transition to 450mm [wafers] at some point; we've got a transition to EUV at some point," he said. "Both are going to be expensive, and are going to require scale."
Scale that Intel – which generated $19 billion in cash last year, and holds net working capital of $17 billion – can easily afford. Despite high capital expenditures and soft earnings in the first two quarters, the company still generated free cash flow of more than $4 billion. TSMC, on the other hand, had to tap debt markets to the tune of $3 billion as free cash flow turned negative. With working capital of less than $4 billion, and plans to maintain its current level of capital spending in 2014, the manufacturer is going to accumulate debt quickly. Samsung and Globalfoundries are spending less, but they have deep resources to draw upon, and aren't going anywhere.
TSMC's investments need to pay off soon, and in a big way – but this is a certainty that only Intel can count on. With its virtual monopoly in personal computers, and control over both chip design and production, Intel can force the adoption of new manufacturing technologies. Customers generally want these improvements, and are willing to pay for them. New processors typically account for one-third or one-fourth of the price of a new machine. Notwithstanding the dismal PC market, prices have held steady for both computers and processors, and with sales declines leveling off in the US – a leading indicator – it looks as though Intel's investments will pay off, regardless of its success in smartphones and tablets.
Taiwan Semiconductor faces a tougher road in the consumer device industry. Here, processors generally account for 2%-3% of the final product's retail price, and large improvements often go unnoticed by customers. There's small demand for a high-performance chip, and with long battery life already the norm, competition has focused on price. IDC estimates that smartphone prices have fallen 17% since the beginning of last year, and that's a potential problem for TSMC, which makes $9 on a high-end smartphone but only $4 on a low-end unit. To be practical, new factories need to lower costs – and Nvidia doesn't see this happening. Last year, the long-time TSMC customer complained that the new few generations of fabs will do little to cut costs.
That could end up being a moot point, if supply issues prevent customers from taking advantage of a new technology in the first place. Last year, shortages forced Qualcomm to second source its chips – to have some of them made by an alternative supplier, in this case Samsung. In the second quarter conference call, TSMC CEO Morris Chang was candid about his approach to customers. "We don't always put in the amount of capacity that a customer requests…. We have not and will not always follow the customer's estimates for their capacity need."
This obviates any technological advantage Taiwan Semiconductor might have, by forcing customers to design chips that can be moved between suppliers. TSMC expects to have a 20nm fab ready for mass production next year, but if Samsung and Globalfoundries are still at 28nm – in this industry, smaller is better – then Qualcomm has good reasons to stick with the older technology. TSMC might have solved this problem in the near-term by signing a deal with Apple, but without a change in philosophy, the new client probably won't end up any happier than the previous ones.
It's easy to underestimate the value of a strong balance sheet, or the security of a mature market. Intel can probably buy its way into the future, while Taiwan Semiconductor probably can't. On the other hand, neither one is likely to reinvent the industry through massive capex budgets. As smartphones and tablets continue to fall in price, it will become harder for TSMC CEO Chang's "grand alliance" – the ecosystem of chip designers and independent foundries – to push the envelope on performance, and just as difficult for Intel to compete with them on price. Change is the rule in any market; but it may be that the more the semiconductor industry changes, the more it stays the same.
For every dollar they earned in the first half of 2013, Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Co. spent $1.40 in capital investments. That's a lopsided number, and a sign of how competitive the semiconductor industry has become. At one time, TSMC dominated the independent foundry business, churning out everything from graphics cards to smartphone chipsets. In recent years it has become a three-horse race, with Samsung Electronics and Globalfoundries carving out large portions of the market, and Intel threatening to open things up even further with a move into mobile processors.
Both TSMC and Intel hope that, by throwing enough money at the problem, they can distance themselves from the competition. For Intel, this might be true. "Chipzilla" has a fat wallet, and a position in the PC industry that guarantees a decent return on its investment. TSMC has neither advantage, and may struggle to get ahead in the rapidly evolving mobile industry.
For both companies, costs are rising.
Gartner estimates this growth at 7%-10% annually, and predicts that by 2016, a capex budget of $8-$10 billion will be de rigueur for chipmakers like TSMC. Intel is naturally happy about this, and former CEO Paul Otellini speculated last year that new technologies -- such as 450mm wafers, which are expected to be more cost-effective than today's industry-standard 300mm, and EUV, or "extreme ultraviolet lithography," an up-and-coming technology that Intel hopes will allow it to further miniaturize its processors -- would cut the competition by half. "We've got [a] transition to 450mm [wafers] at some point; we've got a transition to EUV at some point," he said. "Both are going to be expensive, and are going to require scale."
Scale that Intel – which generated $19 billion in cash last year, and holds net working capital of $17 billion – can easily afford. Despite high capital expenditures and soft earnings in the first two quarters, the company still generated free cash flow of more than $4 billion. TSMC, on the other hand, had to tap debt markets to the tune of $3 billion as free cash flow turned negative. With working capital of less than $4 billion, and plans to maintain its current level of capital spending in 2014, the manufacturer is going to accumulate debt quickly. Samsung and Globalfoundries are spending less, but they have deep resources to draw upon, and aren't going anywhere.
TSMC's investments need to pay off soon, and in a big way – but this is a certainty that only Intel can count on. With its virtual monopoly in personal computers, and control over both chip design and production, Intel can force the adoption of new manufacturing technologies. Customers generally want these improvements, and are willing to pay for them. New processors typically account for one-third or one-fourth of the price of a new machine. Notwithstanding the dismal PC market, prices have held steady for both computers and processors, and with sales declines leveling off in the US – a leading indicator – it looks as though Intel's investments will pay off, regardless of its success in smartphones and tablets.
Taiwan Semiconductor faces a tougher road in the consumer device industry. Here, processors generally account for 2%-3% of the final product's retail price, and large improvements often go unnoticed by customers. There's small demand for a high-performance chip, and with long battery life already the norm, competition has focused on price. IDC estimates that smartphone prices have fallen 17% since the beginning of last year, and that's a potential problem for TSMC, which makes $9 on a high-end smartphone but only $4 on a low-end unit. To be practical, new factories need to lower costs – and Nvidia doesn't see this happening. Last year, the long-time TSMC customer complained that the new few generations of fabs will do little to cut costs.
That could end up being a moot point, if supply issues prevent customers from taking advantage of a new technology in the first place. Last year, shortages forced Qualcomm to second source its chips – to have some of them made by an alternative supplier, in this case Samsung. In the second quarter conference call, TSMC CEO Morris Chang was candid about his approach to customers. "We don't always put in the amount of capacity that a customer requests…. We have not and will not always follow the customer's estimates for their capacity need."
This obviates any technological advantage Taiwan Semiconductor might have, by forcing customers to design chips that can be moved between suppliers. TSMC expects to have a 20nm fab ready for mass production next year, but if Samsung and Globalfoundries are still at 28nm – in this industry, smaller is better – then Qualcomm has good reasons to stick with the older technology. TSMC might have solved this problem in the near-term by signing a deal with Apple, but without a change in philosophy, the new client probably won't end up any happier than the previous ones.
It's easy to underestimate the value of a strong balance sheet, or the security of a mature market. Intel can probably buy its way into the future, while Taiwan Semiconductor probably can't. On the other hand, neither one is likely to reinvent the industry through massive capex budgets. As smartphones and tablets continue to fall in price, it will become harder for TSMC CEO Chang's "grand alliance" – the ecosystem of chip designers and independent foundries – to push the envelope on performance, and just as difficult for Intel to compete with them on price. Change is the rule in any market; but it may be that the more the semiconductor industry changes, the more it stays the same.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
U.S. Manufacturing Grows At Record Pace
http://www.manufacturing.net/news/2013/08/us-manufacturing-grows-at-record-pace?et_cid=3399825&et_rid=490548696&linkid=http%3a%2f%2fwww.manufacturing.net%2fnews%2f2013%2f08%2fus-manufacturing-grows-at-record-pace
WASHINGTON
(AP) -- U.S. factory activity expanded in July at the fastest pace in
two years, fueled by surges in new orders, production and hiring The
gains show manufacturing is rebounding and should provide a spark to
growth in the coming months.
The Institute for Supply Management said Thursday that its index of factory activity jumped to 55.4 in July, up from 50.9 in June. A reading above 50 indicates growth.
A measure of employment rose to its best level in a year, an encouraging sign ahead of Friday's July employment report. And a gauge of production soared 11.6 points to 65, the highest since May 2004.
Stronger growth at U.S. factories could aid a sluggish economy that has registered tepid growth over the past three quarters. And it could provide crucial support to a job market that has begun to accelerate but has added mostly lower-paying service jobs.
Manufacturing had struggled in first few months of the year, held back by weaker global growth and steep government spending cuts. And slower production led factories to slash jobs from March through June.
But those trends have started to reverse. Europe's economies have shown signs of life in recent months. That likely contributed to a healthy gain in U.S. exports in the second quarter.
Businesses also spent more on equipment in the April-June quarter and have boosted orders for four straight months. As those orders are filled, factory output should increase.
Auto sales are also supporting factory output and will likely remain strong this year. July sales figures will also be released Thursday. Auto sales topped 7.8 million in the first six months of 2013, the best first-half total since 2007.
The Federal Reserve will likely take note of the manufacturing gains because the ISM index is one of the earliest signs of how the economy is performing in the second half of the year. Fed policymakers slightly downgraded their assessment of the economy in a statement, but said they expected growth to improve later this year.
The economy grew at a lackluster 1.7 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That's better than the 1.1 percent rate in the first quarter, which was revised sharply lower. But it's still far too sluggish to quickly reduce unemployment.
The Institute for Supply Management said Thursday that its index of factory activity jumped to 55.4 in July, up from 50.9 in June. A reading above 50 indicates growth.
A measure of employment rose to its best level in a year, an encouraging sign ahead of Friday's July employment report. And a gauge of production soared 11.6 points to 65, the highest since May 2004.
Stronger growth at U.S. factories could aid a sluggish economy that has registered tepid growth over the past three quarters. And it could provide crucial support to a job market that has begun to accelerate but has added mostly lower-paying service jobs.
Manufacturing had struggled in first few months of the year, held back by weaker global growth and steep government spending cuts. And slower production led factories to slash jobs from March through June.
But those trends have started to reverse. Europe's economies have shown signs of life in recent months. That likely contributed to a healthy gain in U.S. exports in the second quarter.
Businesses also spent more on equipment in the April-June quarter and have boosted orders for four straight months. As those orders are filled, factory output should increase.
Auto sales are also supporting factory output and will likely remain strong this year. July sales figures will also be released Thursday. Auto sales topped 7.8 million in the first six months of 2013, the best first-half total since 2007.
The Federal Reserve will likely take note of the manufacturing gains because the ISM index is one of the earliest signs of how the economy is performing in the second half of the year. Fed policymakers slightly downgraded their assessment of the economy in a statement, but said they expected growth to improve later this year.
The economy grew at a lackluster 1.7 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That's better than the 1.1 percent rate in the first quarter, which was revised sharply lower. But it's still far too sluggish to quickly reduce unemployment.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
The Fatal Shame Of Russia
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htlead/articles/20130706.aspx
July 6, 2013: Russian prosecutors have finally completed their investigation and prosecution of those responsible for one of the most notorious cases of military corruption in Russian history: the use of obsolete and counterfeit parts in Russian warplanes built by Russian manufacturers. The last act of this prosecution was to give a suspended sentence to one of the corrupt officials who cooperated with the prosecutors and provided information on who was involved and how the scam worked. It all began in 2007, when Algeria told Russia that it was cancelling the recent $1.3 billion purchase of 28 MiG-29 fighters and returning the ones already delivered. Algeria insisted that there were quality issues and that some of the aircraft were assembled from old parts. At first Russian officials refused to believe the Algerians a year later, and after actually looking into the situation Russia agreed to reverse the sale. The government then bought the 28 MiG-29s from the manufacturer to prevent the MiG Aircraft Corporation from going bankrupt. At the same time the government began an investigation of the aircraft industry. Within two years several aviation company executives were tried and convicted for passing off defective, or used, aircraft parts as new. Many of these parts made their way into MiG-29 jet fighters that were sold to Algeria.
The MiG-29 has been in service for three decades and stocks of Cold War era spare parts are still around, and it was first thought that some were put to use to build the Algerian aircraft. The Algerian MiG-29s were supposed to be "new," but some of their components were definitely not. Some MiG employees were very unhappy with the corrupt practices involving aircraft parts. This sort of crime often extends to parts for airliners. The MiG employees felt personally responsible for any defective aircraft leaving their plant and didn't want to be flying in an airliner containing fraudulent parts either. Russian prosecutors, already involved in an anti-corruption program underway for several years, jumped on the allegations and quickly found senior executives presiding over widespread fraud in the aircraft components industry. Some of these officials managed to avoid jail but not because they agreed to cooperate. But several others did go to prison and lost their personal wealth to pay heavy fines.
The publicity this scandal received caused the government to look more intently into the counterfeit or defective aircraft parts situation. Russian aviation officials were alarmed when, upon inspecting 60,000 aircraft parts, they found that nearly a third of them were counterfeits. While most of the substandard fake parts came from neighboring countries, many were made in Russia. China wins first place when it comes to stealing technology and producing counterfeit goods, but Russia is solidly in second place, turning out about a third as many counterfeit goods as China. Russia's neighbors, many former parts of the Soviet Union, have the same bad habits. But Russia and China together produce about 80 percent of counterfeits. Using old and now substandard parts was just one variation on the crime of selling bad (cheap) parts as good (much more expensive) stuff.
Western nations would like to get both Russia and China to crack down on the counterfeiting. That has not been easy. In both countries the counterfeiting is a multi-billion dollar a year industry, run by guys who know how to bribe the right politicians. The counterfeiters have another incentive to keep the prosecutors at bay, counterfeiting kills. Phony medicines and aircraft engine parts have both been linked to deaths in Africa and Asia, where the imitation goods are often sold. If brought to justice, Chinese and Russian counterfeiters would likely be executed.
July 6, 2013: Russian prosecutors have finally completed their investigation and prosecution of those responsible for one of the most notorious cases of military corruption in Russian history: the use of obsolete and counterfeit parts in Russian warplanes built by Russian manufacturers. The last act of this prosecution was to give a suspended sentence to one of the corrupt officials who cooperated with the prosecutors and provided information on who was involved and how the scam worked. It all began in 2007, when Algeria told Russia that it was cancelling the recent $1.3 billion purchase of 28 MiG-29 fighters and returning the ones already delivered. Algeria insisted that there were quality issues and that some of the aircraft were assembled from old parts. At first Russian officials refused to believe the Algerians a year later, and after actually looking into the situation Russia agreed to reverse the sale. The government then bought the 28 MiG-29s from the manufacturer to prevent the MiG Aircraft Corporation from going bankrupt. At the same time the government began an investigation of the aircraft industry. Within two years several aviation company executives were tried and convicted for passing off defective, or used, aircraft parts as new. Many of these parts made their way into MiG-29 jet fighters that were sold to Algeria.
The MiG-29 has been in service for three decades and stocks of Cold War era spare parts are still around, and it was first thought that some were put to use to build the Algerian aircraft. The Algerian MiG-29s were supposed to be "new," but some of their components were definitely not. Some MiG employees were very unhappy with the corrupt practices involving aircraft parts. This sort of crime often extends to parts for airliners. The MiG employees felt personally responsible for any defective aircraft leaving their plant and didn't want to be flying in an airliner containing fraudulent parts either. Russian prosecutors, already involved in an anti-corruption program underway for several years, jumped on the allegations and quickly found senior executives presiding over widespread fraud in the aircraft components industry. Some of these officials managed to avoid jail but not because they agreed to cooperate. But several others did go to prison and lost their personal wealth to pay heavy fines.
The publicity this scandal received caused the government to look more intently into the counterfeit or defective aircraft parts situation. Russian aviation officials were alarmed when, upon inspecting 60,000 aircraft parts, they found that nearly a third of them were counterfeits. While most of the substandard fake parts came from neighboring countries, many were made in Russia. China wins first place when it comes to stealing technology and producing counterfeit goods, but Russia is solidly in second place, turning out about a third as many counterfeit goods as China. Russia's neighbors, many former parts of the Soviet Union, have the same bad habits. But Russia and China together produce about 80 percent of counterfeits. Using old and now substandard parts was just one variation on the crime of selling bad (cheap) parts as good (much more expensive) stuff.
Western nations would like to get both Russia and China to crack down on the counterfeiting. That has not been easy. In both countries the counterfeiting is a multi-billion dollar a year industry, run by guys who know how to bribe the right politicians. The counterfeiters have another incentive to keep the prosecutors at bay, counterfeiting kills. Phony medicines and aircraft engine parts have both been linked to deaths in Africa and Asia, where the imitation goods are often sold. If brought to justice, Chinese and Russian counterfeiters would likely be executed.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Shortages Surface in NAND Flash
http://chipdesignmag.com/display.php?articleId=5164
By Mark LaPedus
By Mark LaPedus
Spot shortages - and possible price increases - for NAND flash
have suddenly surfaced in the market amid recent production cuts by
major memory suppliers.
The shortfall in NAND emerged this week, when solid-state drive (SSD) vendor OCZ Technology Group Inc. lowered its quarterly forecast. OCZ disclosed it could not obtain enough NAND parts for its SSDs.
Other OEMs are expected to see similar NAND shortages in the market, especially small- to mid-sized companies with no secure source of supply. On the other hand, Apple may be able to get an ample supply of parts.
The NAND shortfall is somewhat predictable. Micron, Samsung, SK Hynix and Toshiba have recently cut NAND production amid lackluster demand.
Besides supply for NAND, there are also some pricing issues for these parts. Prices for NAND hit $0.31/GB in June, but they went back up to $0.36/GB in August, according to Jim Handy, an analyst with Objective-Analysis, a research firm.
“We believe ASPs thus far in the quarter have been flattish versus the significant declines in 1H ‘12. Both 64-Gbit MLC and 32-Gbit MLC are declining flat to 5-7% thus far in the quarter,” added Vijay Rakesh, an analyst with Sterne Agee.
OCZ feels the pinch
Meanwhile, at OCZ, the shortfall of NAND impacted the company’s Vertex and Agility line of SSDs. OCZ itself expects preliminary revenue for the second fiscal quarter of 2013 to be approximately $110 to $120 million, compared to the previously guided revenue range of $130 to $140 million. This preliminary revenue range compares to $113.6 million for the first fiscal quarter of 2013 and $78.5 million for the second fiscal quarter of 2012.
"Despite achieving bookings in excess of our expectations for our second fiscal quarter, we were not able to meet our previously stated revenue guidance due primarily to constraints in NAND flash supply," said Ryan Petersen, CEO of OCZ Technology.
“OCZ is not the only company that is affected by the supply shortages,” he said during a conference call. "While we believe that the situation will resolve itself, subject to market conditions, we plan to hasten our transition to new process nodes in order to help ease these supply constraints."
Hans Mosesmann, an analyst with Raymond James & Associates, said OCZ’s NAND shortfall involves select parts. “The shortages were primarily in 25nm MLC or consumer focused NAND, which OCZ partially resolved by using SLC or enterprise NAND at the expense of gross margins. Despite using SLC, the company depleted its inventory and expects to be 30-50% short on its NAND orders through November,” Mosesmann said.
OCZ blamed the problems on recent NAND production cuts at Micron, Samsung, SK Hynix and Toshiba. But OCZ may have also dropped the ball, as the company apparently failed to secure a steady source of NAND parts.
“The company's lack of a strategic NAND deal is clearly being negatively felt as volatility in the NAND market continues to challenge independent vendors, especially a vendor focused on a high-volume business through the channel,” said Alex Kurtz, an analyst with Sterne Agee.
“Looking forward, visibility remains challenging on the NAND front as OCZ believes the reported iPhone 5 launch is sapping supply out of the market and that transitioning to the Barefoot 3 controller, which uses a lower node flash with better availability, will also help address this issue,” Kurtz said.
The Barefoot 3 is a SSD controller, based on the SATA-2 interface. It was designed by Indilinx Co. Ltd. In 2011, OCZ acquired Indilinx, a fabless provider of flash controller semiconductors and firmware for SSDs.
The shortfall in NAND emerged this week, when solid-state drive (SSD) vendor OCZ Technology Group Inc. lowered its quarterly forecast. OCZ disclosed it could not obtain enough NAND parts for its SSDs.
Other OEMs are expected to see similar NAND shortages in the market, especially small- to mid-sized companies with no secure source of supply. On the other hand, Apple may be able to get an ample supply of parts.
The NAND shortfall is somewhat predictable. Micron, Samsung, SK Hynix and Toshiba have recently cut NAND production amid lackluster demand.
Besides supply for NAND, there are also some pricing issues for these parts. Prices for NAND hit $0.31/GB in June, but they went back up to $0.36/GB in August, according to Jim Handy, an analyst with Objective-Analysis, a research firm.
“We believe ASPs thus far in the quarter have been flattish versus the significant declines in 1H ‘12. Both 64-Gbit MLC and 32-Gbit MLC are declining flat to 5-7% thus far in the quarter,” added Vijay Rakesh, an analyst with Sterne Agee.
OCZ feels the pinch
Meanwhile, at OCZ, the shortfall of NAND impacted the company’s Vertex and Agility line of SSDs. OCZ itself expects preliminary revenue for the second fiscal quarter of 2013 to be approximately $110 to $120 million, compared to the previously guided revenue range of $130 to $140 million. This preliminary revenue range compares to $113.6 million for the first fiscal quarter of 2013 and $78.5 million for the second fiscal quarter of 2012.
"Despite achieving bookings in excess of our expectations for our second fiscal quarter, we were not able to meet our previously stated revenue guidance due primarily to constraints in NAND flash supply," said Ryan Petersen, CEO of OCZ Technology.
“OCZ is not the only company that is affected by the supply shortages,” he said during a conference call. "While we believe that the situation will resolve itself, subject to market conditions, we plan to hasten our transition to new process nodes in order to help ease these supply constraints."
Hans Mosesmann, an analyst with Raymond James & Associates, said OCZ’s NAND shortfall involves select parts. “The shortages were primarily in 25nm MLC or consumer focused NAND, which OCZ partially resolved by using SLC or enterprise NAND at the expense of gross margins. Despite using SLC, the company depleted its inventory and expects to be 30-50% short on its NAND orders through November,” Mosesmann said.
OCZ blamed the problems on recent NAND production cuts at Micron, Samsung, SK Hynix and Toshiba. But OCZ may have also dropped the ball, as the company apparently failed to secure a steady source of NAND parts.
“The company's lack of a strategic NAND deal is clearly being negatively felt as volatility in the NAND market continues to challenge independent vendors, especially a vendor focused on a high-volume business through the channel,” said Alex Kurtz, an analyst with Sterne Agee.
“Looking forward, visibility remains challenging on the NAND front as OCZ believes the reported iPhone 5 launch is sapping supply out of the market and that transitioning to the Barefoot 3 controller, which uses a lower node flash with better availability, will also help address this issue,” Kurtz said.
The Barefoot 3 is a SSD controller, based on the SATA-2 interface. It was designed by Indilinx Co. Ltd. In 2011, OCZ acquired Indilinx, a fabless provider of flash controller semiconductors and firmware for SSDs.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
ARL-Funded Research Leads to Serendipitous Discovery of Optical Scanning Method
Global IC Trading Group has this technology, DTEK, in-house.
http://www.militaryaerospace.com/news/2013/04/02/arl-funded-research-leads-to-serendipitous-discovery-of-optical-scanning-method.html
http://www.militaryaerospace.com/news/2013/04/02/arl-funded-research-leads-to-serendipitous-discovery-of-optical-scanning-method.html
April 2, 2013
The U.S. Army Research Laboratory issued the following news:
The U.S. Army Research Laboratory's (ARL), Army Research Office's (ARO) initial concept of exploring DNA as a tagging and tracking method has led to the discovery of an optical scanning technology that can identify counterfeit electronic components before they are integrated into Army materiel.
The technology also provides the capability to identify and track materiel in the absence of external tags or barcodes.
This timely discovery will help address a significant challenge within the Army and DoD: the presence of counterfeit electronic components in military equipment.
A 2011^'2012 investigation by the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) found overwhelming evidence that international counterfeiters are taking old, sub-standard electronic components and altering them to appear as new, brand-name parts that are then integrated into DoD munitions, aircrafts, sensors, and other electronic devices.
SASC chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, stated that the "flood of counterfeit parts, overwhelmingly from China, threatens national security, the safety of our troops, and American jobs."
Although the SASC uncovered the sources of many of these counterfeit parts, an ongoing challenge is to consistently and reliably identify these forgeries and prevent their integration into DoD and Army materiel.
The SASC released a report in May 2012 emphasizing this challenge by documenting "failures by defense contractors and DoD to report counterfeit parts and gaps in DoD's knowledge of the scope and impact of such parts on defense systems."
This investigation led to an amendment, signed by President Obama, to stop the integration of counterfeit electronic parts into DoD systems and to address weaknesses in the supply chain.
An ARL-ARO Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) topic has led to a novel technology that will help address many of the challenges noted in the SASC report.
The SBIR topic, conceived by scientists from ARL-ARO and the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center in 2007, called for a study of the properties of DNA to determine if this information-rich natural polymer could be used in a new barcoding system that would provide enhanced security relative to conventional tracking methods.
A California-based company, ChromoLogic, LLC, was contracted to explore this SBIR topic.
ChromoLogic developed a tag with a biomimetic barcode that can be aligned in the proper order and decoded by an optical reader, akin to how the sequence of a DNA molecule can be read.
This biomimetic tag and reader system has robust information-storage capabilities that are unambiguous and readily authenticated, with no reagent or material exchange between the tag and reader.
This technology will provide a capability that complements ongoing research led by the Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center, which focuses on embedding DNA in printed barcodes, which can be transferred to a reference test ticket to verify authentic military materiel.
Interestingly, as is often true for high-risk, high-payoff research, this project led to an unexpected discovery that may have an even greater impact than was initially conceived.
The research team, led by principal investigator Dr. Naresh Menon and project manager Leonard Nelson, discovered that the optical scanning technology developed to decode the biomimetic tag is capable of mapping the intrinsic surface of electronic components, providing a type of fingerprint to distinguish authentic or counterfeit circuits.
Nelson stated that when "illegitimate electronic components' surfaces are altered, the counterfeiters do it in a way that is very difficult for human observers to detect...believe it or not, the fake ones look better than the real ones."
Given that counterfeit electronic components are forged chiefly by altering their surface layers, this discovery provides a powerful method for screening integrated circuits based on their intrinsic surface patterns, which can be scanned in as little as one second.
ChromoLogic has developed this surface-scanning technology into the DTEK system, which provides quantitative optical inspection of integrated circuits.
Dr. Stephanie McElhinny, ARL-ARO program manager for the ChromoLogic project, noted that the development and use of this optical scanner for detecting surface fingerprints "is an incredible example that illustrates how research discoveries can guide a project to an outcome that would never have been predicted...and serves as a strong argument for the continued support of high-risk research to enable new Army capabilities."
The DTEK system recently began evaluation through multiple electronics manufacturers, and the technology has already been adopted by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Boeing.
McElhinny and ARO Military Deputy Lt. Col. Timothy Warner attended a site demonstration of the DTEK system at Boeing's Huntington Beach location in 2012.
The ARL-ARO representatives were shown the quality assurance process at Boeing and the role that the DTEK system will play in authenticating circuits for use in DoD contracts.
According to Warner, the importance of this technology is evident "when one considers the implications of an illegitimate circuit making its way into Army materiel--it could cause a 10-fold reduction in service life, or worse--it could cause the failure of an aircraft or targeting system while in operation, putting lives at risk."
The DTEK system, used as part of a comprehensive counterfeit-mitigation process, may reduce the influx of forgeries into Army materiel and improve the reliability of mission-essential equipment used by the Soldier.
The DTEK optical scanning technology is also capable of identifying and tracking materiel in the absence of external tags or barcodes.
The research team is working with Picatinny Arsenal and the Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center to develop a hand-held scanner that can be used for covert tracking and management of high-value Army commodities.
The U.S. Army Research Laboratory's (ARL), Army Research Office's (ARO) initial concept of exploring DNA as a tagging and tracking method has led to the discovery of an optical scanning technology that can identify counterfeit electronic components before they are integrated into Army materiel.
The technology also provides the capability to identify and track materiel in the absence of external tags or barcodes.
This timely discovery will help address a significant challenge within the Army and DoD: the presence of counterfeit electronic components in military equipment.
A 2011^'2012 investigation by the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) found overwhelming evidence that international counterfeiters are taking old, sub-standard electronic components and altering them to appear as new, brand-name parts that are then integrated into DoD munitions, aircrafts, sensors, and other electronic devices.
SASC chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, stated that the "flood of counterfeit parts, overwhelmingly from China, threatens national security, the safety of our troops, and American jobs."
Although the SASC uncovered the sources of many of these counterfeit parts, an ongoing challenge is to consistently and reliably identify these forgeries and prevent their integration into DoD and Army materiel.
The SASC released a report in May 2012 emphasizing this challenge by documenting "failures by defense contractors and DoD to report counterfeit parts and gaps in DoD's knowledge of the scope and impact of such parts on defense systems."
This investigation led to an amendment, signed by President Obama, to stop the integration of counterfeit electronic parts into DoD systems and to address weaknesses in the supply chain.
An ARL-ARO Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) topic has led to a novel technology that will help address many of the challenges noted in the SASC report.
The SBIR topic, conceived by scientists from ARL-ARO and the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center in 2007, called for a study of the properties of DNA to determine if this information-rich natural polymer could be used in a new barcoding system that would provide enhanced security relative to conventional tracking methods.
A California-based company, ChromoLogic, LLC, was contracted to explore this SBIR topic.
ChromoLogic developed a tag with a biomimetic barcode that can be aligned in the proper order and decoded by an optical reader, akin to how the sequence of a DNA molecule can be read.
This biomimetic tag and reader system has robust information-storage capabilities that are unambiguous and readily authenticated, with no reagent or material exchange between the tag and reader.
This technology will provide a capability that complements ongoing research led by the Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center, which focuses on embedding DNA in printed barcodes, which can be transferred to a reference test ticket to verify authentic military materiel.
Interestingly, as is often true for high-risk, high-payoff research, this project led to an unexpected discovery that may have an even greater impact than was initially conceived.
The research team, led by principal investigator Dr. Naresh Menon and project manager Leonard Nelson, discovered that the optical scanning technology developed to decode the biomimetic tag is capable of mapping the intrinsic surface of electronic components, providing a type of fingerprint to distinguish authentic or counterfeit circuits.
Nelson stated that when "illegitimate electronic components' surfaces are altered, the counterfeiters do it in a way that is very difficult for human observers to detect...believe it or not, the fake ones look better than the real ones."
Given that counterfeit electronic components are forged chiefly by altering their surface layers, this discovery provides a powerful method for screening integrated circuits based on their intrinsic surface patterns, which can be scanned in as little as one second.
ChromoLogic has developed this surface-scanning technology into the DTEK system, which provides quantitative optical inspection of integrated circuits.
Dr. Stephanie McElhinny, ARL-ARO program manager for the ChromoLogic project, noted that the development and use of this optical scanner for detecting surface fingerprints "is an incredible example that illustrates how research discoveries can guide a project to an outcome that would never have been predicted...and serves as a strong argument for the continued support of high-risk research to enable new Army capabilities."
The DTEK system recently began evaluation through multiple electronics manufacturers, and the technology has already been adopted by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Boeing.
McElhinny and ARO Military Deputy Lt. Col. Timothy Warner attended a site demonstration of the DTEK system at Boeing's Huntington Beach location in 2012.
The ARL-ARO representatives were shown the quality assurance process at Boeing and the role that the DTEK system will play in authenticating circuits for use in DoD contracts.
According to Warner, the importance of this technology is evident "when one considers the implications of an illegitimate circuit making its way into Army materiel--it could cause a 10-fold reduction in service life, or worse--it could cause the failure of an aircraft or targeting system while in operation, putting lives at risk."
The DTEK system, used as part of a comprehensive counterfeit-mitigation process, may reduce the influx of forgeries into Army materiel and improve the reliability of mission-essential equipment used by the Soldier.
The DTEK optical scanning technology is also capable of identifying and tracking materiel in the absence of external tags or barcodes.
The research team is working with Picatinny Arsenal and the Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center to develop a hand-held scanner that can be used for covert tracking and management of high-value Army commodities.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Global semiconductor inventories down 5% in Q4
http://www.totaltele.com/view.aspx?ID=480072
Global semiconductor inventories during the fourth quarter declined more than expected from the third quarter, led by a 11% reduction by market leader Intel Corp., according to IHS Inc.
The research company said the days of inventory for semiconductor suppliers declined 5% in the fourth quarter, faster than the 1.5% decline initially forecast. Meanwhile, the inventory value fell almost 5%, more than the originally projected 3%.
"Semiconductor companies reduced their inventories at a faster-than-expected rate in the fourth quarter as they moved to adjust to weakening demand," said Sharon Stiefel, analyst for semiconductor market intelligence at IHS.
No. 1 semiconductor supplier Intel was the most aggressive, cutting its stockpiles by $585 million, the largest decrease on a dollar basis of any chipmaker.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. cut its inventory by $182 million, or 25% from the third quarter, while STMicroelectronics N.V.'s inventory value was reduced by $131 million, or 9% from the prior quarter.
Meanwhile, Qualcom Inc. added $247 million of inventory, a 24% rise from the third quarter.
Qualcomm has benefited from the rising popularity of smartphones. Despite a trend toward internally designed processors, smartphone makers like Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. have continued to use Qualcomm's modem chips, which employ the next-generation wireless technology LTE.
Intel cut its stockpiles by $585 million in the quarter, according to IHS. | |
Global semiconductor inventories during the fourth quarter declined more than expected from the third quarter, led by a 11% reduction by market leader Intel Corp., according to IHS Inc.
The research company said the days of inventory for semiconductor suppliers declined 5% in the fourth quarter, faster than the 1.5% decline initially forecast. Meanwhile, the inventory value fell almost 5%, more than the originally projected 3%. "Semiconductor companies reduced their inventories at a faster-than-expected rate in the fourth quarter as they moved to adjust to weakening demand," said Sharon Stiefel, analyst for semiconductor market intelligence at IHS.  No. 1 semiconductor supplier Intel was the most aggressive, cutting its stockpiles by $585 million, the largest decrease on a dollar basis of any chipmaker.Advanced Micro Devices Inc. cut its inventory by $182 million, or 25% from the third quarter, while STMicroelectronics N.V.'s inventory value was reduced by $131 million, or 9% from the prior quarter. Meanwhile, Qualcom Inc. added $247 million of inventory, a 24% rise from the third quarter. Qualcomm has benefited from the rising popularity of smartphones. Despite a trend toward internally designed processors, smartphone makers like Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. have continued to use Qualcomm's modem chips, which employ the next-generation wireless technology LTE. |
Intel cut its stockpiles by $585 million in the quarter, according to IHS. | |
Global semiconductor inventories during the fourth quarter declined more than expected from the third quarter, led by a 11% reduction by market leader Intel Corp., according to IHS Inc.
The research company said the days of inventory for semiconductor suppliers declined 5% in the fourth quarter, faster than the 1.5% decline initially forecast. Meanwhile, the inventory value fell almost 5%, more than the originally projected 3%. "Semiconductor companies reduced their inventories at a faster-than-expected rate in the fourth quarter as they moved to adjust to weakening demand," said Sharon Stiefel, analyst for semiconductor market intelligence at IHS. No. 1 semiconductor supplier Intel was the most aggressive, cutting its stockpiles by $585 million, the largest decrease on a dollar basis of any chipmaker.Advanced Micro Devices Inc. cut its inventory by $182 million, or 25% from the third quarter, while STMicroelectronics N.V.'s inventory value was reduced by $131 million, or 9% from the prior quarter. Meanwhile, Qualcom Inc. added $247 million of inventory, a 24% rise from the third quarter. Qualcomm has benefited from the rising popularity of smartphones. Despite a trend toward internally designed processors, smartphone makers like Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. have continued to use Qualcomm's modem chips, which employ the next-generation wireless technology LTE. |
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Global semiconductor inventories during the fourth quarter declined more than expected from the third quarter, led by a 11% reduction by market leader Intel Corp., according to IHS Inc.
The research company said the days of inventory for semiconductor suppliers declined 5% in the fourth quarter, faster than the 1.5% decline initially forecast. Meanwhile, the inventory value fell almost 5%, more than the originally projected 3%.
"Semiconductor companies reduced their inventories at a faster-than-expected rate in the fourth quarter as they moved to adjust to weakening demand," said Sharon Stiefel, analyst for semiconductor market intelligence at IHS.
No. 1 semiconductor supplier Intel was the most aggressive, cutting its stockpiles by $585 million, the largest decrease on a dollar basis of any chipmaker.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. cut its inventory by $182 million, or 25% from the third quarter, while STMicroelectronics N.V.'s inventory value was reduced by $131 million, or 9% from the prior quarter.
Meanwhile, Qualcom Inc. added $247 million of inventory, a 24% rise from the third quarter.
Qualcomm has benefited from the rising popularity of smartphones. Despite a trend toward internally designed processors, smartphone makers like Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. have continued to use Qualcomm's modem chips, which employ the next-generation wireless technology LTE.
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