Four Key Highlights of the 2016 Semiconductor Market

2015 The semiconductor market hasn't been optimistic this year, and especially in the second half, voices expressing a pessimistic outlook have flooded the entire industry. 2016 Will the semiconductor market undergo a shift this year? ? What new trends will emerge? ?

Market: Expected to see a slight recovery.

Despite some signs of recovery already emerging, mainstream market analysis firms remain... 2016 The market outlook for the semiconductor industry remains cautiously optimistic this year, and the overall trend is expected to show a gradual recovery. According to the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics Organization. (WSTS) the data, 2015 Global semiconductor sales growth for the year was only... 0.2% , to reach 3360 hundreds of millions of dollars. Moreover, in the coming years, the global semiconductor market is expected to show a recovery trend. 2016 Year and 2017 Annual growth will increase separately. 1.4% and 3.1% 。 Gartner The research data indicate that, 2015 Global semiconductor output will decline this year. 1.9%; Expected 2016 Global semiconductor output will see a slight increase this year. 2014 To 2019 The average annual growth rate for the year is 3.3% 。

The main reasons behind the weak market conditions in the semiconductor industry can be attributed to: PC Slowing shipments, a stronger U.S. dollar, a shrinking Japanese economy, the European crisis, and sluggish performance in the Chinese market—these are all factors that have impacted TSMC’s business. Luo Zhenqiu, Deputy General Manager of TSMC’s China operations, pointed out that in the past... 5 Over the years, globally... IT The IT and semiconductor industries are experiencing rapid growth, driven by the demand for mobile communication and computing products. Smartphones and tablets are both killer applications. And... 2016 However, the growth rate of smartphones will no longer be as high as it has been in recent years. Meanwhile, markets such as the Internet of Things, automotive electronics, and cloud computing have yet to mature and are unable to fill the market void created by the slowdown in the mobile market. Therefore, 2016 Even if the semiconductor market size grows this year, the increase will be quite limited.

However, the issues affecting the growth of the semiconductor market are not as severe as one might imagine. Dai Weimin, founder, chairman, and president of Xinxin Microelectronics, said: “I think...” 2016 The growth rate of the global semiconductor market may slow down somewhat this year, but the situation isn't as severe as it might seem. The Chinese market will continue to maintain relatively high growth, primarily due to increased investment. The National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund. 2015 Invested annually Foundry ，2016 Starting this year, more investment will be directed toward the design industry. Driven by capital, China’s integrated circuit industry will gain significant momentum in the coming years.

Mergers and Acquisitions: Enthusiasm Remains Strong, but Options Are Fewer.

2016 The year remains a busy one for M&A in the semiconductor industry, but the number of companies that are both suitable for acquisition and willing to sell has dwindled, and deal values have fallen short of previous levels. 2015 Annual level.

2015 This year marks a boom year for mergers and acquisitions in the global semiconductor industry. NXP spent... 170 $100 million acquisition of Freescale, Avago (Avago) Spending heavily 370 $100 billion acquisition of Broadcom, Intel (Intel) With 167 Spent hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire Altera ……Research Company Dealogic The data shows that by... 2015 Year 12 By mid-month, the global semiconductor industry’s M&A deal volume has already surpassed... 1200 hundreds of millions of dollars—the transaction amount is the same as last year’s. 4 More than double, the amount involved set a new record high in recent years. The M&A fervor in China’s semiconductor industry is equally intense—for example, Tsinghua Unigroup. 38 US$100 million investment in Western Digital and Qingxin Huachuang 16 $100 million acquisition of OmniVision, a major U.S. manufacturer of optical image sensors. (OmniVision) The packaging and testing facility Jiangsu Changdian acquired Xingke Jinpeng and others.

2016 Will the year continue? 2015 M&A Trends of the Year ? Market expectations, 2016 This year will still be a busy one for M&A activity in the semiconductor industry, and mergers and acquisitions will remain the quickest path for companies to grow rapidly. However, after a year of frenzied activity, there are likely fewer companies left that are both suitable for acquisition and willing to sell. Gartner Wang Duan, Vice President of Research at the Technology and Services Vendor Research Division, stated that mergers and acquisitions will continue to occur, but the transaction amounts will no longer be as high as before. 2015 It was that astonishing last year.

Mode: IDM To be favored again

Near 25 Mid-year, for the second time on the global chip supplier ranking list... IDM Performance surpasses Fabless the situation.

Market research agency IC Insights The data shows that, 2015 On the global chip supplier ranking for the year, there appeared... IDM Performance surpasses Fabless the situation. This situation has recently... 25 This marks the second time such a phenomenon has occurred mid-year. Moreover, several major system manufacturers—including Apple, Samsung, and Huawei—have begun developing their own processor chips in an effort to enhance the differentiation of their end products. These developments indicate that the trend toward vertical integration is once again gaining momentum in the semiconductor industry, and the industry’s long-standing rules of the game, which have prevailed for decades, could soon be rewritten.

In this regard, Wang Duan used the future development of the Internet of Things as an example to point out that although the IoT generates enormous economic value, the semiconductor industry can reap only limited benefits from it. The reason is that other aspects—such as software and application services—also need to be taken into account. Therefore, semiconductor professionals must adopt a “systems-thinking” approach when formulating their competitive strategies.

Industrial Technology Research Institute IEK System and IC Lin Hongyu, a senior researcher at the Process Technology Department, also noted that the long-tail characteristics of the IoT industry have prompted system vendors to start designing and developing their own chips. This approach will shorten the distance between traditional supply chains, enabling system vendors to— IP The supplier has made some contact, further driving the demand for wafer fabrication. EDA 、 IP Changes in the market strategies of suppliers and chip design service providers.

Global Landscape: China’s Status Continues to Rise

China is the world’s largest market for sensors, analog components, and discrete devices, accounting for a respective share of global shipments. 50%、41% and 40%。

Despite being affected by the slowdown in overall economic growth, WSTS Not optimistic 2016 The growth status and forecast of China's semiconductor market in [year]. 2016 The highest growth rate in the global semiconductor industry this year will come from the Americas. Meanwhile, WSTS It also predicts that the recovery of Japan's semiconductor industry and the reduction in losses for Europe's semiconductor industry will help... 2016 The growth of the global semiconductor market this year.

Overall, China’s position in the global semiconductor industry continues to rise. In this regard, semiconductor expert Mo Dakang pointed out that top global manufacturers such as Samsung, Intel, and TSMC are all investing in China. ( or plan to invest ) Construction 12 The inch-wafer production line will even adopt the most advanced manufacturing processes. Additionally, recent large-scale investments in China’s semiconductor industry—led by companies such as Tsinghua Unigroup—have drawn significant attention from the global industry. In terms of market share, China ranks first worldwide in sensors, analog components, and discrete devices; based on shipment volumes, China accounts for a substantial portion of global shipments. 50%、41% and 40% On the export front, in recent years, globally... ICT The center of industrial gravity is rapidly shifting toward Asia, and China’s growth is particularly remarkable. 2000 At that time, China's share of global exports of electronic components was merely... 2.1% , to 2013 Year of arrival 19.8% , surpassing the share of Taiwan region.

IoT wearables could be the next growth driver for connectors.

According to Gartner Prediction, compared to 2014 Year, 2015 Global connected devices will reach by the year. 49 100 million units, growth 30% , to 2020 This scale will grow annually. 5 Twice, that is to say 250 Hundreds of millions of devices. IoT devices have become a major driver of commercial development and will impact various industries in social life. If the pace of IoT’s growth can be reflected by independent market research, this trend will receive fresh impetus and attract even greater attention. Often referred to as the “Internet of Everything,” IoT naturally calls for connectors that will play a crucial role in enabling its full potential.

Of course, at present, the Internet of Things remains a relatively broad concept. However, when we look specifically at the connector market, we find that this innovation will continue to be driven by the demand for miniaturization, the need for highly integrated on-chip functionality, and requirements for ultra-low power consumption. (Ultra Low Power) The driving force behind systems designed for operation. This trend is particularly evident in wearable devices. Today, global electronic component manufacturers are vying to carve out a niche in the “wearable” device market, and in this context, miniaturization has become an absolute priority. The demand for compact, low-power devices has now expanded to virtually every corner of the electronics industry. Take, for example, the medical sector—the earliest and most technologically advanced field within the wearable space—which has already extended to next-generation portable medical devices. Leading international companies... Molex We started planning for this aspect very early on.

Mole Through MediSpec The product series offers a range of highly innovative solutions for the medical electronics field. For example, Polymicro Technologies of the MediSpec Hollow silica waveguides, designed specifically for medical laser applications, represent a cutting-edge advanced medical technology. Another innovation is... MediSpec Medical plastic round shape (MPC) Interconnected systems—this cost-effective interconnected product features a rated... 1 High durability of 10,000 cycles. MPC Interconnect systems feature an exceptionally high number of mating cycles, yet exhibit low insertion forces and come at a cost that is only a fraction of that for competing systems employing machined contacts. As IoT technologies find increasingly diverse applications across industries, connector manufacturers will face ever-more stringent challenges to their innovation capabilities.

Expected 2016 In the coming year, more unexplored areas will give rise to entirely new application demands driven by the Internet of Things. Future IoT platforms will undoubtedly witness the development of a hyper-connected environment, leveraging a wide array of cutting-edge ultra-low-power and sensor technologies that will bring transformative changes and added value to numerous fields—including healthcare and industry—beyond just these sectors.

Smart factories and robots will... 2016 Is the industrial connector market set for an explosive growth this year?

Although connectors may be small, the development level of the connector industry is often closely linked to a country’s overall industrial prowess. “Made in Germany,” synonymous with quality, efficiency, and innovation, is widely recognized and praised around the world. Just like the country’s overall industrial strength, Germany’s connector industry has also reached an exceptionally high level of development and plays a vital role within Germany’s electrical and electronics industrial ecosystem. Meanwhile, China’s counterpart—often referred to as the “industrial…” 4.0 The planned “Made in China” 2025 Since its introduction, it has drawn widespread social attention. The concept of “Made in China 2.0” continues to gain momentum, and the ambitious goal of becoming a manufacturing powerhouse is equally promising.

As industrial manufacturing evolves toward automation and intelligence, connectors—widely used in fields such as mechanical equipment, factory automation, power distribution, and railways—are naturally becoming a key area of development. Focusing on “industrial”... 4.0 Solutions and technologies for “smart manufacturing”—particularly in modules such as stamping, injection molding, assembly, crimping, and more—naturally call for a completely new upgrade to connectors that can significantly boost production efficiency. Moreover, the interconnected collaboration among various module areas places entirely new demands on connector components. Take heavy-duty connectors as an example: increasingly demanding application environments require traditional heavy-duty connectors to deliver outstanding performance while also offering broader applicability and rapid, comprehensive service capabilities. These connectors should be widely suitable for industrial production, especially for connection tasks in harsh and complex environments, thereby meeting the diverse needs of customers in both the Chinese and global markets for intelligent control equipment.

Meanwhile, the increasing demand for automation in smart factories will undoubtedly enable industrial robots to play an even greater role in the future. As a connector manufacturer that provides internal connections for robots and sensor solutions, we naturally cannot afford to miss out on this promising, burgeoning field. The robotics industry is thriving in China, and connector solutions—used for both local connections in robotic arms and for integrating complete robotic control systems—are attracting growing interest from more and more people. Although connectors are just a small component in the intelligent control process, they serve as the foundational element that ensures overall quality and makes intelligent systems possible.

Since many industrial robots operate in high-risk environments, their arm joints must be able to meet increasingly complex and precise production demands. Traditional cable connections can no longer satisfy these requirements, placing greater demands on connection components. For instance, in numerous operational settings, it’s simply impossible to wire robots; instead, we must rely on wireless connections to transmit signal commands to the robots. Such contactless connection solutions must integrate non-contact power transmission and high-frequency technologies, enabling reliable delivery of power, signals, and data without physical contact in virtually any environment. Clearly, compared to conventional connection methods, the advancement of industrial robots will inevitably bring about profound changes to the connector industry. Moreover, this new development will also benefit other areas of the connector industry, opening up revolutionary prospects for the entire range of connection devices.