TSMC is Ranked 5 in Global Semiconductor Sales

IC Insights just released their May update to the Maclean Report. According to them:

"[The May update]...describes the big shakeup in the 1Q08 top 20 semiconductor supplier ranking (Figure 1). There are eight U.S. companies in the top 20 (including three fabless semiconductor suppliers), six Japanese, three European, two South Korean, and one Taiwanese company (IC foundry supplier TSMC) in the ranking. As shown, it required at least $1.0 billion in first quarter sales to make the top 20 ranking. Although the top four ranked companies remained the same, there were a number of "movers and shakers" up and down the remainder of the 1Q08 ranking as compared to their full-year 2007 positions."

TSMC was ranked fifth and listed as the fastest growing of all 20 companies in the list. The top four companies remained unchanged and were listed as Intel, Samasun, Texas Instruments and Toshiba. TSMC was the only pure-play foundry on the list.

According to the China Economic News (CENS),

The market-research organization ascribed the significant growth of TSMC mostly to outstanding sales at Nvidia and Qualcomm, the world`s top two fabless houses depending on TSMC for foundry manufacturing service.

Burgeoning shipments of third-generation (3G) handsets worldwide in the first quarter led Qualcomm to deliver 85 million sets of handset chipsets, pushing up the firm`s revenue for the period by 29% ( from a year earlier) to US$1.6 billion. The company was ranked the No.10 chipmaker for the first time last quarter.

Nvidia increased contracts to TSMC in the first quarter to keep up with thriving demands for its G92 graphics chips, which helped bulk up the company`s sales for the quarter to US$1.1 billion, up 37% year on year. The increase pace made the company the second best performer of the top 20 chipmakers in terms of revenue growth. Nvidia was placed on the 18th position on the top-20 list.

Yesterday CENS also mentioned Texas Instruments would be contracting both TSMC and UMC to manufacture their 45 nm chips. According to CENS:

When Texas Instruments (TI) recently announced its plan to have its 45nm base-band chips and digital signal chips made at two silicon foundries next quarter, industry watchers believed Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) would be the choice partners.

The main reason for this increase is that Texas Instruments will not independently develop process technologies below 45 nm.

Article 1: Shakeups Rock 1Q08 Top 20 Semiconductor Supplier Ranking
Article 2: Texas Instruments to Have 45nm Chips Made at Foundries