Financial
• The global semiconductor market is creeping ahead very slowly after the lacklustre sales of the past few months. Global sales increased 1,7% MoM in May, a slight increase for the third month in a row, leading to a renewed sense of optimism for a rebound in the market in the second half of 2023.
• Micron Technology has announced its results for the second quarter of fiscal 2023 which ended in March. The semiconductor company saw a revenue of $3,69 billion versus $4,09 billion for the prior quarter, and $7,79 billion for the same period last year. GAAP net loss was reported as $2,31 billion, with a non-GAAP net loss of $2,08 billion. Operating cash flow of $343 million was disclosed, a large drop from the previous quarter’s $943 million.
• According to a report released by the Global Semiconductor Alliance, industry leaders are optimistic about semiconductor revenue growth in the second half of 2023, as automotive takes the lead as the most important revenue driver, and the easing of the semiconductor shortage is in sight for most products. However, according to a survey of global semiconductor executives conducted by GSA and KPMG, major forces of pressure on today’s global semiconductor market remain the supply/demand imbalance, talent shortage, and geopolitical risks.
• 78% of local organisations are struggling to find the IT talent they need, with demand for skilled IT professionals increasing by 29% in the last 12 months, according to the most recent ManpowerGroup South Africa Employment Outlook Survey. This goes against the grain of the global employment trend established by the survey, with the global net employment outlook – calculated by subtracting employers planning reductions vs those planning to hire – at 23%, down 4% YoY, indicating that international hiring is slowing. These statistics suggest that employers in the IT space are only willing to hire people if they have the right skills needed.
• TrendForce (www.trendforce.com) has reported that OEMs have continued making concerted efforts to scale back production of NAND Flash used in the production of SSDs and eMMCs. It is expected that the current state of oversupply of the memory will continue into Q3 2023.
• EV battery prices continued to decline throughout June 2023, though the rate of decline across all product types has started to taper off. The average selling price of EV square ternary cells, LFP cells, and pouch ternary cells each fell by 1 to 2% MoM. The market demand for energy storage cells, however, has rebounded significantly in most overseas markets, with the ASP of these cells growing by 3% in June. The market is predicted to regain stability in H2 2023, with enterprise orders outpacing expectations.
• On 30 June, the Netherlands introduced new export restrictions on advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China, falling in line with both the US and Japan. Despite these export bans, however, China’s semiconductor expansion remains strong, with the market share of Chinese foundries in terms of 12-inch wafer production capacity anticipated to increase from 24% in 2022 to 26% in 2026. This is due to the fact that most of the equipment can be largely met by local Chinese vendors, with photolithography the one limiting factor.
Companies
• FUCHS has clinched an accolade from the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) Leadership Awards for 2021-2022 for its Net Zero submission. The building housing the new FUCHS head office has been certified as being net zero valid until 2025. Not only was the office designed to be as energy efficient as possible, but it also generates renewable energy in excess of its requirements. This translates into net zero carbon emissions from energy usage on an annual basis.
• Enertec Megatank energy solutions will now be distributed by Tarsus Distribution following the signing of a distribution agreement with the energy storage company Enertec batteries. This deal seeks to meet the country’s ongoing need for energy storage solutions as it deals with ever more frequent power outages affecting homes and businesses nationwide.
• Indium Corporation has earned the IEEE Malaysia Section Outstanding Industry Award for its InFORMS brand of reinforced solder preforms. The award was presented during a ceremony on 24 June. InFORMS provide improved strength and a more consistent bondline thickness, which maximises the thermal and mechanical reliability of the solder joints. They can be manufactured in a wide variety of shapes, including rectangles and discs, or even custom shapes to suit specific application requirements.
• Indium Corporation has also been included into the Smithsonian exhibit on cellphone technology, highlighting its Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) material used in smartphone manufacturing. Specifically, the conductive ITO layer is arranged in an invisible grid on top of the display and develops a change in capacitance when the interface is touched, thereby providing touch sensing. The special exhibit is titled ‘Cellphone: Unseen Connections’.
• In late 2022, the technical program committee for DesignCon 2023 announced the DesignCon Best Paper Awards finalists. Now, they have announced the Best Paper Awards winners, and this year, papers authored by Samtec engineers were honoured by DesignCon Best Paper Awards as finalists and a winner. Istvan Novak and Gustavo Blando of Samtec were part of the authorship team who won the award, with the paper titled ‘Connection artifacts in PDN measurements’.
• ABB has been appointed to provide electrification and automation systems for ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India’s (AM/NS India) advanced steel cold rolling mill (CRM) in Hazira, Gujarat. The contract at the flagship manufacturing plant comes through John Cockerill India Limited (JCIL), the project OEM. ABB is providing the systems, including the ABB Ability System 800xA distributed control system (DCS) and associated equipment and components to support enhanced energy efficiency, optimised zinc consumption and high levels of corrosion resistance throughout the steel production process. The new CRM, with advanced processing lines, is due to be commissioned in 2024.
Technologies
• The demand for AI and HPCs is predicted to boost high bandwidth memory (HBM) volume by almost 60% in 2023. HBM is emerging as the preferred solution for overcoming memory transfer speed restrictions due to the bandwidth limitations of DDR SDRAM in high-speed computation. This memory is recognised for its revolutionary transmission efficiency and plays a pivotal role in allowing core computational components to operate at their maximum capacity.
• Intel has suspended shipments of its Sapphire Rapids Xeon server CPU, after bugs were discovered. The temporary suspension will allow the company time to initiate testing on all affected products. The problematic model currently experiencing issues is the SPR MCC 32-cores. Other models like the 20/24C and 36C and higher are not affected.
• With the global focus on energy systems, the number of home energy management systems (HEMS) in both Europe and North America reached close to 1,5 million in 2022. The report, released by Berg Insight, defines HEMS as a system that at minimum consists of a solar PV charger, battery storage system and a web-based management portal or smartphone app that allows for remote monitoring and control. This figure has grown substantially from the 950 000 installed systems in Europe at the end of 2022 with 320 000 being added in 2023. North American installations grew by 250 000 in 2023 to reach a total of 770 v000.
• According to a new research report from the IoT analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of active fleet management systems deployed in commercial vehicle fleets in South Africa reached an estimated 2,1 million in Q4 2022. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12,2%, this number is expected to reach 3,8 million by 2027. South Africa is a relatively mature telematics market, and the penetration rate is comparably high from an international perspective.
• The rapid development of solid-state batteries for NEVs will see these vehicles rivalling combustion engines in range within the next five years, according to a report by TrendForce. Automakers are actively ramping up their investments and research into solid-state batteries, and with the integration of high-activity cathode and anode materials, these batteries are projected to enter mass production sometime between 2030 and 2035. Their energy density could reach 500 Wh/kg, offering a driving range two to three times greater than existing liquid lithium batteries, and therefore rivalling the range of traditional petrol vehicles.
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