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June 2008 semiconductor sales reached $21.6 billion, compared to $21.8 billion in May, a 5.5 percent decline. Asia Pacific and its host of ‘developing countries’ is continuing to prop-up semiconductor sales, especially with the double-digit growth in sales of PC’s and mobile phones in the region, noted SIA President George Scalise in reporting June 2008, IC sales figures. June sales of $21.6 billion were up by 8 percent from the $20 billion reported for June 2007 and grew 5.4 percent over the first half of 2007 to reach $127.5 billion. Read more >>

The DRAM oversupply debacle is now not expected to correct itself until the second half of 2009, according to Nam Hyung Kim, Chief Analyst, memory ICs, at iSuppli Corp. Capital spending cutbacks seen at the beginning of the year, coupled to further reductions seen for the second half of 2008 are not sufficient to stem overcapacity in the third quarter of 2008, resulting in price declines even during the greatest quarter of demand. This has had an impact on rising inventory levels, Kim said. Read more >>

Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. has signed a definitive agreement for the transfer of 95% of OKI’s shares in its new semiconductor company OKI Semiconductor Co., Ltd. to ROHM. OKI announced the spin-off of its semiconductor business in May and its plan to transfer the shares to ROHM. OKI Semiconductor’s capital will be ¥20 billion (approximately US$185 million) at its official establishment on October 1st, 2008. "We are pleased to reach and sign the definitive agreement with ROHM," said Katsumasa Shinozuka, President and CEO at OKI. "Because the product overlap between OKI and ROHM is relatively low, we believe by transferring shares of the new company, the OKI-nurtured semiconductor business will continue to grow under ROHM and maximize strengths of both companies." Read more >>

With fab utilization rates above 90 percent and IC shipments projected to grow by 8 percent in 2008, the 15 percent reduction in capital expenditure (CapEx) is expected to push Average Selling Prices (ASPs) higher over the next five years and result in a sustained period of tight supply, noted IC Insights in its Mid-Year McClean Report Update. Read more >>

Citing reasons including overcapacity, weaker than expected demand for NAND flash and an increase in inventory, SanDisk Corporation said it would be delaying its capacity expansion plans at Fab 4 and cutting capital expenditure by approximately $500 million in fiscal 2008 and in fiscal 2009. Eli Harari, SanDisk’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, also said that the company would hold back on investment plans for Fab 5 and return to purchasing up to 20 percent of its NAND flash requirements from outside sources. Read more >>

The June 2008 Book-to-Bill Report from SEMI posted a strong increase to 0.85, compared to that posted in May of only 0.79. This equated to $1.03 billion in orders in June 2008 (three-month average basis) for North America-based equipment suppliers. This is only the second rise in the book-to-bill ratio in 2008. Read more >>

ON Semiconductor Corporation has signed a definitive agreement for the takeover of Catalyst Semiconductor, Inc. The all-stock transaction will see Catalyst shareholders receive 0.706 shares of ON Semiconductor common stock per Catalyst share, which represents an approximate equity value of $115 million and an enterprise value of approximately $85 million. Read more >>

Applied Materials has signed a two-year system support contract with Inotera Memories that covers its two 300mm DRAM fabs, located in Taiwan. Inotera Memories is a joint venture between Qimonda AG and Nanya Technology Corporation. Read more >>

The Fab Owners’ Association (FOA) has added four new members to its ranks, the association announced today. SVTC Technologies, Infineon Technologies, Maxim Integrated Products and ANADIGICS, Inc. have all joined the FOA, which strives to provide a forum for semiconductor manufacturing executives and industry suppliers to discuss common manufacturing hurdles and issues in an attempt to lower manufacturing costs through information sharing. Read more >>

In a revision of its April forecast of a 19.8 percent decline in worldwide capital equipment spending, Gartner, Inc. has forecast a 22.4 percent decrease from spending levels seen in 2007. The market research company have estimated that spending for the year will amount to approximately $49.2 billion and that the decline is a result of oversupply in the DRAM and NAND flash memory segments. Read more >>