TSMC exec: Chip industry to recover in 3 years

Things are gloomy all around, the global chip industry included. And as much pounding as the semiconductor market has taken, it hasn't hit bottom. The good news? It's "pretty close," Morris Chang, chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., told The Wall Street Journal in an interview Friday.

Morris Chang, chairman of TSMC, predicts the
chip industry will see a recovery in 2012.

(Credit: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.)

"I think it will be 2012 before the total revenue of the semiconductor industry gets back to the '08 level," said Chang, who has worked in the industry for more than 50 years. He founded TSMC, the world's largest contract chip manufacturer, in 1987.

Last month, TSMC reported a 64 percent drop in profit for the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with the same period the year before. Its sales were down 31 percent. The news came on the heels of Intel reporting a steep drop in profit for the fourth quarter. Lora Ho, chief financial officer of TSMC, said in a statement then: "The global economic recession continues to worsen. Customers...continue to pare their inventories aggressively, resulting in a further significant cutback of wafer demand."

The Journal story also said that Chang expects a "continued decline for companies that make both consumer products and semiconductors." Although of the companies that do both, Samsung and Intel are "in a strong position."

[GrimFandango8885]

I love how its a "64" percent loss in profit. It makes you think where they got the numbers from. Wink* Wink*. Hey guys we need to release a loss report, lets tag it with the number of bits in most computer processors, they will never know and we can get away with being cute. But thats too convenient. We all have a bumbling white house regular too thank for all of this. You think he'd been kicked out after four years let alone 8.

[3tire]

If you seriously think a US president alone is the cause of the worldwide economic meltdown, then you're pretty much the bumbling regular. It's "liberals" and "conservatives" like you who give Americans their well deserved reputation for being blockheads. Oh and before you go off on a tirade spouting off all the predictable demonizing, of someone you think disagrees with your politics, I am a longtime democrat and a fervent Obama supporter.

[xim1970]

What I love is the fact that they are expecting a turnaround in 3 years. Isn't that the same amount of time that the "general" economy is expected to turn around? This is a big news item why? I could've told you that! Here's my headline:
"When everything else turns around, we expect we will too."
Send cash for my insight thank you!
Make checks payable to [e-mail]

[shawnlin]

Morris isn't expecting a turnaround in 3 years, he is expecting the total industry revenue (of the semiconductor market) to recover to 2008 levels in 2012. That means the economy will have to turn around at least year or two before 2012.