A strong upturn in this period has begun to materialise. In general the year has been characterised by tight CAPEX control while seeing fab utilisation rates climb above the normal levels that would usually mean CAPEX being unleashed. The fourth quarter has seen a significant change, with both a new wave of 300-mm fab announcements, as well as capacity expansions for those already in operation. The flurry of activity in this quarter is unprecedented and heralds the single largest 300-mm fab expansions to date, (see Figure 1). As a result, we have updated the tool install forecast and activity table considerably, while taking a company by company approach to highlight what's been happening in this very busy and exciting period.
 300mm activity report