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Trump: Semiconductor tariff rates will be announced this week
Trump said on April 13 (last Sunday) that the tariff rate for semiconductors will be announced next week and will take effect in the near future. (Cailian News)
It is reported that after Huang Renxun attended the Mar-a-Lago dinner, the White House changed its plan to restrict Nvidia’s export of AI chips H20 to China
Reuters quoted a report from the National Public Radio (NPR) on April 9 titled “After the Mar-a-Lago dinner, the Trump administration gave up the fight against Nvidia’s AI chip H20”, saying that two sources told NPR that after Huang Renxun, CEO of artificial intelligence chip giant Nvidia, went to Mar-a-Lago in Florida on April 4 to attend a dinner, the White House changed its plan to restrict Nvidia’s export of H20 to China and suspended further restrictions on the export of such chips. NPR said that the White House and the US Department of Commerce have not yet responded to requests for comment on the above report. Nvidia declined to comment. (Global Network)
The EU bets on “super factories” to catch up with China and the United States in the AI race
The EU said it would focus on building AI data and computing infrastructure and making it easier for companies to comply with regulations in order to catch up with the United States and China in the AI race. The European Commission said it hopes to develop a so-called AI super factory network to help companies train the most complex models. These factories will be equipped with about 100,000 of the latest AI chips, about four times the number of AI factories currently being built. (Cailian News)
SEMI: Global semiconductor equipment shipments soared to $117 billion in 2024
The latest report from the International Semiconductor Industry Association (SEMI) pointed out that global semiconductor manufacturing equipment shipments will reach $117.1 billion in 2024, a 10% increase from $106.3 billion in 2023. Among them, sales of wafer processing equipment increased by 9%, and sales of other front-end segments increased by 5%. This growth was mainly due to increased investment in advanced logic, mature logic, advanced packaging and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) capacity expansion, as well as a significant increase in Chinese investment. (SEMI)
my country discovers high-purity quartz ore with a purity of over 99.995%
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, the “Announcement on New Discovered Minerals” was recently released, in which a new mineral species – high-purity quartz ore was identified. Its emergence will change the previous situation of high dependence on imports and help the high-quality development of related strategic emerging industries. The Ministry of Natural Resources said that the new mineral species established this time is called high-purity quartz ore, which refers to rocks that can obtain silicon dioxide with a purity of not less than 99.995% after beneficiation and purification, and the impurity and inclusion content meet the application requirements of semiconductors, photovoltaics and other high-tech fields. (Cailian News)
Big Factory Chip Dynamics
STMicroelectronics management turmoil, will lay off 2,800 people
Italian trade unions recently warned that STMicroelectronics’ factories will lay off employees as part of a $300 million cost-cutting plan. STMicroelectronics said it is ready to conduct “constructive negotiations” with Italian trade unions to avoid unilateral actions on employment levels in Italy.
STMicroelectronics said it will lay off nearly 3,000 employees by 2027 in an effort to turn things around after months of sluggish sales. The group said up to 2,800 employees will leave the company, mainly in 2026 and 2027. STMicroelectronics’ latest financial report shows that the company will have a total of 49,602 employees by the end of 2024. (Jiwei.com)
TSMC’s revenue in March was NT$285.96 billion, a year-on-year increase of 46.5%
TSMC’s revenue in March was NT$285.96 billion, a year-on-year increase of 46.5%; its revenue in the first quarter was NT$839.25 billion, a year-on-year increase of 41.6%. (Cailianshe)
It is reported that Samsung has started the research and development of 1nm process and will start mass production after 2029
Samsung Electronics has begun to develop 1.0nm wafer foundry technology, and some R&D personnel who have participated in cutting-edge processes such as 2nm have been transferred to form a special project team. Samsung expects mass production to begin after 2029. In the wafer foundry process roadmap currently disclosed by Samsung, the 1.4nm process planned for mass production in 2027 is currently the most advanced process. (Seoul Economic Daily)
Samsung plans to achieve mass production of 8-layer HBM3E in April
Samsung Electronics is conducting qualification tests for HBM3E 8-layer and 12-layer products. It plans to supply 8-layer products to Nvidia in large quantities as early as this month, and plans to supply 12-layer products in the first half of this year. (Sedaily)
The wafer foundry suspends all business in China? Samsung personally refutes the rumor
Samsung Semiconductor personally refuted the rumor that “Samsung Foundry has suspended all business in China”. Samsung Semiconductor posted on its official WeChat account: It has been confirmed that the statement that “Samsung Foundry has suspended cooperation on new projects with some Chinese companies” is a misunderstanding, and Samsung is still cooperating with these companies normally. (Cailianshe)
Northern Huachuang: Net profit in the first quarter of 2025 is expected to increase by 24.69%-52.79% year-on-year
Northern Huachuang announced that from January 1, 2025 to March 31, 2025, operating income is expected to be 7.34 billion yuan to 8.98 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 23.35%-50.91%; net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies is 1.42 billion yuan to 1.74 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.69%-52.79%; net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses is 1.4 billion yuan to 1.72 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 29.06%-58.56%; basic earnings per share are 2.66 yuan/share-3.26 yuan/share. (Cailianshe)
ON Semiconductor suspends investment in SiC chip factory in South Korea and recalls most engineers to the United States
Onsemi Semiconductor has reportedly stopped investing in its silicon carbide (SiC) power management IC factory in South Korea. This is due to the slowdown in electric vehicle sales by Korean automakers and the increased demand for Si IGBT chips used in economical electric vehicles.
Sources said that ON Semiconductor has recalled most of the engineers from its Bucheon plant in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea to the United States. They said that there are only some researchers in the factory at present, and these researchers are also expected to be reorganized. (Jiwei.com)
Prolong Electronics intends to purchase 100% equity of Ruichengxinwei and 45.64% equity of Nanengwei
On April 12, Prolong Electronics issued an announcement stating that the company intends to purchase 100% equity of Chengdu Ruichengxinwei Technology Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as: Ruichengxinwei) and 45.64% equity of Nanengwei Electronics (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as: Nanengwei) by issuing shares and paying cash, and raise matching funds. This transaction is expected to constitute a major asset reorganization and a related transaction, and will not lead to a change in the company’s actual controller. The company’s shares will resume trading from the opening of the market on April 14, 2025. (Jiwei.com)
Force Yageo to retreat? Japanese company MinebeaMitsumi plans to acquire Shibaura Electronics for 70 billion yen
Japanese parts supplier MinebeaMitsumi is about to launch a tender offer for Shibaura Electronics, challenging the unsolicited acquisition of Taiwan-based electronic component maker Yageo. The move is the latest development in the takeover battle surrounding the Japanese thermistor sensor maker. (Jiwei.com)
Marvell sells its automotive network business to Infineon for $2.5 billion
Chip maker Marvell Technology Inc. has agreed to sell its automotive network business to Infineon Technologies AG for $2.5 billion in cash. Infineon said in a statement on April 7 that the acquisition of Marvell’s automotive Ethernet division is expected to be completed in 2025. The division is expected to generate revenue of $225 million to $250 million this year, with a gross profit margin of about 60%. (Jiwei.com)
Chip market
Channel dealers say many US chip companies have suspended quotations for new orders
A chip channel dealer told reporters, “In the past, people may have identified the origin by looking at the product label, but the definition is not that strict. In addition, because most of the packaging and testing capacity is in Southeast Asia, the industry originally thought that the impact of tariffs would not be very large, but if it is determined to be the wafer stage, it means that chips manufactured by US wafer fabs will be subject to high tariffs, such as TI Texas Instruments, Intel, etc. In the short term, the demand for analog chips of related companies will shift to China.” A chip channel dealer told reporters, “Many US chip companies have suspended quotations for new orders, and everyone is also evaluating the impact.” (Yicai)
Flash memory market: Storage stocking demand turns weak under the impact of tariffs
According to CFM Flash memory market, terminal manufacturers such as mobile phones, PCs, and TVs are generally evaluating the impact of tariffs, and the cost of terminals driven by tariffs may raise prices in some regions, thereby weakening competitive advantages and affecting sales. The cost pressure brought by subsequent tariffs will also be transmitted to the storage chip field as the upstream link of consumer terminals, and the demand for storage stocking will also be suppressed. At present, channel storage prices remain high, and customers are less willing to stock up while holding inventory, which has led to a recent decline in channel market demand. The impact of tariffs has caused some customers to express concerns about the future market. (Flash memory market)
Samsung Electronics is considering raising prices for DRAM memory and NAND flash memory products by 3%-5%
Samsung Electronics is discussing with major global customers to increase product prices for DRAM memory and NAND flash memory by 3%-5%, and negotiations for some new contracts have already started. (South Korea Daily Economic News)
It is reported that Micron will impose surcharges on some storage products from April 9 to respond to Trump’s new tariffs
According to people familiar with the matter, US memory chip manufacturer Micron Technology has informed US customers that it plans to impose surcharges on some products from April 9 to respond to US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs. (Jiwei.com)
Terminal chip trend
Institution releases Q1 global PC market sales list: Lenovo, HP, Dell ranked in the top three
On April 9, market research agency Canalys pointed out in a report that in the first quarter of 2025, the total shipments of desktops, laptops and workstations worldwide increased by 9.4% year-on-year to 62.7 million units. Among them, the shipments of laptops (including mobile workstations) reached 49.4 million units, a year-on-year increase of 10%; the shipments of desktops (including desktop workstations) were 13.3 million units, a year-on-year increase of 8%. (Canalys)
Folding screen mobile phone market is difficult to change the slowdown in growth in the short term
Since the beginning of this year, mobile phone manufacturers such as OPPO and Huawei have rushed to launch new folding screen mobile phones, achieving breakthroughs in flexible screens, hinge structure design, and thinness. However, the industry believes that this market is currently in an adjustment stage and still faces multiple challenges such as technology, cost, and market acceptance. It is difficult to change the slowdown in growth in the short term. (Jiwei.com)
IDC: Many major manufacturers postponed the launch of new products. This year’s AR/VR shipments will decrease by 12% year-on-year and rebound by 87% next year
The IDC report pointed out that due to the delay of new product launch schedules of many key manufacturers in 2025, global shipments of AR/VR head-mounted devices will decrease by 12% year-on-year, mainly due to supply indicators, but by 2026, the market will rebound strongly, with a growth rate of up to 87%, and shipments are expected to exceed the historical peak of 11.2 million units set during the epidemic in 2021. (IDC)
Yole releases global automotive lidar market report
Recently, international market research and strategic consulting agency Yole Group released the “2025 Global Automotive LiDAR Market Report”. The report shows that the global passenger car lidar market continues to grow rapidly, expanding by 68% year-on-year in 2024, and the market size has climbed to US$692 million. Among them, RoboSense ranks first in the world with a market share of 26%. Thanks to the widespread application of high-level intelligent driving assistance systems equipped with lidar in the Chinese market, the global lidar market has ushered in rapid development, among which Chinese lidar brands account for 92% of the market share. (Yole)
Institution: Global smartphone shipments in Q4 2024: Apple accounts for 23% of the market and takes 54% of revenue
Market research firm CounterPoint Research released a report stating that in the fourth quarter of 2024, the global smartphone shipments had a stable overall market performance, with shipments reaching 323 million units. Apple continued to lead the global smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2024, accounting for 23% of the market share. At the same time, Apple set a quarterly record for the highest ASP, and with this advantage, it won 54% of the global smartphone revenue. (CounterPoint)