Electrical chemicals need to consolidate - Linx

13 July 2007 00:14  [Source: ICIS news]

By Ivan Lerner

NEW YORK (ICIS news)--The world's electrical chemical sector needs to consolidate, as too many companies are competing for business in the semiconductor industry, a market analyst said on Thursday.

Without consolidation, chemical companies will continue to have little pricing power, said Mike Corbett, managing partner of Linx Consulting, based in Boston, Massachusetts.

Consumers are disciplined in expecting price reductions, and this is a huge driver for the semiconductor materials industry, he added. “The electronics industry increasingly needs to deliver lower prices.”

Moreover, semiconductor fabrication facilities are big consumers of ultra high-purity nitrogen, oxygen, argon, hydrogen and helium, Corbett said. The next generation of fabrication facilities will cost about $4bn (€3bn) each to build.

“That may lead to consolidation and more partnerships at the end-user level and likely consolidation of chemicals and materials suppliers,” he said.

The global electronic chemicals and materials market for 2006 had about $49.5bn in revenues, said Linx Consulting.

Chemicals and materials for semiconductors, including compound devices, had a value of $18.1bn, with almost 60% of that from wafers, around 15% from gases and the rest from deposition, chemical mechanical planarisation, lithography and chemicals.

In 2006, chemicals and materials for liquid crystal displays (LCDs) had revenues of $16bn and, for packaging applications, $15.4bn.

Electronic chemicals and materials are projected to have 8-9% annual growth.

($1 = €0.73)

(Look for the full story on electronic chemicals in the 16 July debut issue of the new ICIS Chemical Business.)

By: Ivan Lerner
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