Citing the Nikkei, the source said that the upward trend in prices for microcircuits, indicated in the fourth quarter of 2020 against the background of the global shortage of semiconductor products, will continue into the next year. Prices are rising due to several factors, including increased material and logistics costs, and competition from device manufacturers seeking to secure adequate inventory.
TSMC at the end of August announced that it will raise prices for some products by 20%, while its smaller competitor UMC has already increased prices several times since the end of last year.
Industry sources told the Nikkei that TSMC is trying to combat capacity overbooking, a situation where customers order more chips than they need. On the one hand, the excitement stimulates the rise in prices, and on the other hand, it makes it difficult for TSMC to determine the real demand.
Analysts believe TSMC's price increases will be more pronounced next year due to TSMC still fulfilling existing orders.
Meanwhile, analysts at Counterpoint Research have found that chip designers are already paying 40% more to release products using relatively old technological processes because it is in this segment that there is now the most acute capacity shortage.
According to Nikkei, prices are on the rise at all stages of the production chain from the supply of raw materials to packaging and testing of finished microcircuits. Chipmakers and analysts predict strong demand will continue next year and prices will continue to rise.
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