EL SEGUNDO, CA -- Global inventories held by semiconductor suppliers surged to a 30-month high during the fourth quarter, a development that could spell trouble if chip industry growth loses steam this year, IHS iSuppli warned today.

SAN JOSE – Analysis of planned capital expenditures at over 200 semiconductor manufacturing facilities shows total semiconductor capex spending will grow 15% to 20% this year, SEMI says. A significant portion of this spending is promising to result in record investments in new and used fab equipment, says the trade group.

SEMI-compiled data from more than 200 facilities, including LED fabs, reveal a 28% increase year-over-year for fab equipment spending in 2011, followed by a 4% drop next year.

Spending on construction projects is expected to decline about 13% in 2011 and 9% in 2012.

Among the major investors, TSMC increased capex from a record $5.9 billion in 2010 to $7.8 billion in 2011. Intel increased capex from $5.2 billion in 2010 to $9 billion in 2011. Globalfoundries doubled capex to $5.4 billion in 2011, and Samsung increased total capex (including R&D) 18%.

In 2011, fab equipment spending for foundries is expected to reach the highest level in history. Foundries are expected to continue to spend at accelerated levels in 2012. Memory companies will spend much less aggressively in 2011 than in 2006 and 2007, with equipment spending approaching 2008 levels. A large segment of the pie is spending on MPU/logic, mainly driven by Intel, whose MPU investments will reach record levels in 2011.

SEMI predicts capacity growth of about 9% for 2011 and 7% for 2012. Foundries will have the strongest increase in capacity this year, followed by MPU/logic and memory. Foundries are also expected to lead capacity growth in 2012.

Based on 45 future fabs that will begin production from 2012 to 2016, annual capacity growth rates in 2013 and 2014 are expected to hover around 7%.  Most spending is directed toward upgrading existing facilities.

In 2010, 34 new volume fabs began construction; in 2011, only seven have a high probability of being realized, and four more are likely to start in 2012, the firm says.

The largest segment for new fabs is the LED industry, with wafer sizes of 2" and 4". However, significantly fewer new LED fabs will begin construction in 2011 and 2012. Only five new LED fab projects are likely in 2011.

In 2010, SEMI counted seven 300 mm volume fabs (excluding R&Ds and pilots) beginning construction.  However, in 2011, only Intel’s fab is predicted to start in mid-2011.  In 2012, three 300 mm fabs will begin construction: one foundry and two integrated device manufacturers, two of which are potential candidates for 450 mm-ready cleanrooms.

SEMI has identified seven facilities (R&Ds, pilots and volume fabs) in the near future that are candidates for 450 mm readiness. The first facilities are expected to come on line in 2013.

The Advanced Technology Investment Company said it will spend $6 billion to $7 billion on a High Tech Center in Abu Dhabi. The center includes a plan for a 300 mm wafer fab, and production is expected to ramp up in 2014 or 2015. Also, Rusnano plans a project to produce telecommunication ICs at a fab in Siberia.

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TEMPE, AZ – Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in February for the 19th consecutive month, says the Institute for Supply Management. The PMI registered 61.4%, up 0.6 points, with new orders at 68%, up a slight 0.2 percentage points. Production was 66.3%, up 2.8 points. Inventories dropped 3.6 points to 48.8%, and customer inventories fell 5.5 points to 40%. Backlogs reached 59%, up 1 percentage point.

SCOTTSDALE, AZ -- Lane departure warning systems are the next big feature for the high-volume automotive market, with models ranging from the Ford Focus to Mercedes-Benz C-Class coming equipped this year.