SMIC tops Chartered in '05 foundry rankings

SAN JOSE, Calif. — China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) topped Singapore’s Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Pte. Ltd. for third place in the worldwide silicon foundry rankings in 2005, according to the rankings from Gartner Dataquest Inc.

Dongbu, Hua Hong NEC, Jazz and MagnaChip also moved up in the foundry rankings in 2005, according to Gartner Dataquest. Overall, however, it was a bad year for the foundry industry, as worldwide sales hit 18.4 billion in 2005, down 2.5 percent over 2004, according to the market research firm.

For the first time, the foundry market fell while overall semiconductor sales grew in 2005, according to the firm.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) remained as the world’s largest foundry with 44.8 percent market share in 2005. TSMC’s sales hit $8.22 billion in 2005, up 7.2 percent over 2004.

Taiwan’s United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) remained as the world’s second largest foundry with 15.4 percent market share in 2005. UMC’s sales hit $2.82 billion in 2005, down 19.3 percent over 2004.

SMIC jumped from fourth place in 2004 to the third spot in the 2005 rankings with 6.4 percent market share. SMIC’s sales hit $1.17 billion in 2005, up 20.1 percent over 2004.

Chartered fell from third place in 2004 to the fourth spot in the 2005 rankings with 6.2 percent market share. Chartered’s sales hit $1.13 billion in 2005, up 2.6 percent over 2004.

IBM Corp. remained as the world’s fifth largest foundry with 4.5 percent market share in 2005. IBM’s foundry sales hit $832 million in 2005, down 2.1 percent over 2004.

South Korea’s MagnaChip Semiconductor Ltd. jumped from seventh place in 2004 to the sixth spot in the 2005 rankings with 2.2 percent market share. MagnaChip’s foundry sales hit $396 million in 2005, up 10 percent over 2004.

Taiwan’s Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp. fell from sixth place in 2004 to the seventh spot in the 2005 rankings with 1.9 percent market share. Vanguard’s foundry sales hit $354 million in 2005, down 9.8 percent over 2004.

South Korea’s Dongbu Semiconductor Ltd. jumped from ninth place in 2004 to the number eight spot in the 2005 rankings with 1.9 percent market share. Dongbu’s sales hit $347 million in 2005, up 4.2 percent over 2004.

China’s Shanghai Hua Hong NEC jumped from tenth place in 2004 to the ninth spot in the 2005 rankings with 1.7 percent market share. The company’s foundry sales hit $305 million in 2005, down 5.7 percent over 2004.

U.S.-based Jazz Semiconductor Inc. jumped from 12th place in 2004 to the tenth spot in the 2005 rankings with 1.1 percent market share. The company’s sales hit $210 million in 2005, down 4.5 percent over 2004.