SANTA CLARA, CA – A DisplaySearch report shows an increase in TFT LCD panel loading rates in October, to 75% from 68% in September.

The uptick in October fab loading rates mainly came from Korean panel makers, who increased loading to 84-85%, aiming to fulfill demand in October (the peak month in the year), says the research firm. The increase mainly stemmed from TV panel production to meet increased LCD TV orders for the fourth quarter, especially for Samsung. In addition, both LG Display and Samsung are increasing shipments to Chinese customers, with consecutive monthly shipment growth in November and December.

Taiwanese panel makers also raised their fab loading rates in October, but are only at a 65% loading rate on average, and plan to operate at the same level in the fourth quarter, reflecting the cautious outlook of their TV customers and a prioritization of finances over market share, says DisplaySearch.

Japanese panel makers are still struggling with inventory issues and have made further cuts in fab utilization for the fourth quarter.

Loading rates differ by fab generation, with Gen7/7.5 increasing to 86% in October, up from a record low of 76% in September, and Gen8/8.5 increasing from 64% to 72%.

Large-area panel shipments, particularly for LCD TVs, are likely to show a peak in October and decline by 2% sequentially in November before scaling down significantly at the end of the year.

The planned increases in panel shipments in October were encouraged by healthy sell-through results during the Golden Week holidays in China. There were hopes that TV sales in China would surge before the China home appliance subsidy program ended in late November, and that inventory rebuilding may be stronger than after Golden Week last year, according to the firm.

FRAMINGHAM, MA – Third-quarter worldwide PC microprocessor revenues went up 12.2% sequentially and 16.1% year-over-year, to $10.7 billion, says IDC.

On a shipment basis, the PC microprocessor market rose 6.7% compared to the second quarter and increased 5.2% compared to the third quarter of 2010.

“The average selling price that brand vendors pay for PC microprocessors rose more than 5% in the third quarter of 2011,” said Shane Rau, director of semiconductors: personal computing research at IDC. “And it was the eighth quarter in a row that ASPs rose. Clearly, Intel's Sandy Bridge and AMD's Fusion microprocessors with integrated graphic processors are rising in each company's product stack and driving the price increase. At the same time, low-end processors, notably Intel's Atom processors, are declining as a percentage of the unit mix.”

Processors with IGP rose to 73% of total PC processor shipment volume in the third quarter, the firm notes.

For the quarter, Intel earned 80.2% overall worldwide shipment market share, a gain of 0.9 percentage point sequentially. Meanwhile, AMD earned 19.7%, a loss of 0.7 percentage point compared to the second quarter. VIA Technologies earned 0.1%, a loss of 0.2 percentage point.

Intel earned 82.3% share in the mobile PC processor segment, a loss of 2.1 percentage points. AMD finished with 17.6%, a gain of 2.4%, and VIA earned 0.1%.
In the PC server/workstation processor segment, Intel finished with 95.1% market share, a gain of 0.6 percentage point, and AMD earned 4.9%, a loss of 0.6 percentage point.

In the desktop PC processor segment, Intel earned 75.8%, a gain of 4.8 percentage points, and AMD earned 24.1%, a loss of 4.8 percentage points.

WASHINGTON, DC — The 90-day moving average worldwide semiconductor sales rose 2.1% year-over-year in the September quarter, the Semiconductor Industry Association said today.

BANNOCKBURN, IL – North American rigid and flex printed circuit board shipments combined in September decreased 12% year-over-year. Orders dropped 18.4% from September 2010, says IPC.

Year to date, shipments were down 0.2%, and orders fell 9.6%. Sequentially, PCB shipments for September increased 4.9%, and orders decreased 7.3%. 

The book-to-bill ratio fell to 0.99. A ratio of more than 1.0 suggests that current demand is ahead of supply, which is a positive indicator for sales growth over the next two to three months.

Rigid board shipments were down 13.1%, while orders dropped 19.9% compared to the same month last year. The rigid book-to-bill dipped just below parity at 0.99.

Year to date, rigid PCB shipments decreased 0.4%, and orders declined 10.8%. Sequentially, rigid board shipments increased 3.5%, and orders decreased 8.9%.

Flex circuit board shipments for the month were down 0.7%, and orders declined 1.8% compared to September 2010. The flex book-to-bill fell to 0.97.         

Year to date, flex board shipments increased 1.6%, and orders were up 3%. Sequentially, shipments increased 20.1%, and orders were up 9.9%.

“Sales and orders were both under last year’s levels in September,” said IPC. “Bookings have been especially sluggish, and that has caused a drop in the book-to-bill ratio; although it is still very near parity, which suggests that flat sales are the likely near-term scenario.”

Rigid circuit boards represent an estimated 89% of the current industry in North America. In September, 85% of total shipments reported were domestically produced. Domestic production accounted for 85% of rigid and 83% of flex shipments.