Winners, losers in 2009 foundry rankings

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The 2009 downturn had a huge impact on the silicon foundry market and the top-10 rankings.

In fact, it was a rough year, as the overall foundry market fell by 11.2 percent in 2009, according to Gartner Inc. Here are the winners and losers in the top-10 ranking for 2009:

Winners: GlobalFoundries, Samsung

Losers: TSMC, UMC, Chartered, SMIC, IBM, Vanguard, Dongbu, TowerJazz, MagnaChip, X-Fab

In terms of share in 2009, TSMC was again in first place, followed in order by UMC, Chartered, GlobalFoundries, SMIC, IBM, Vanguard, Dongbu, TowerJazz and Samsung.

Except for GlobalFoundries and Samsung, the other players in the top-10 saw their respective sales fall in 2009. Many lost share as well.

''Companies such as X-Fab and MagnaChip were pushed out of the top 10 rankings by Globalfoundries and Samsung in 2009. Despite the severe downturn, TSMC, UMC, Chartered Semiconductor and Dongbu Electronics still managed to retain the same ranking status as in 2008. SMIC, IBM Microelectronics and Vanguard International Semiconductor, on the other hand, slipped one position lower, and TowerJazz dropped two places,'' said Kay-Yang Tan, an analyst from Gartner, in a report.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) was in first place again, but the company's sales hit $8.997 billion in 2009, down 15.2 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. TSMC's share fell from 47 percent in 2008 to 44.8 percent in 2009.

Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) was in second place again. The company's sales hit $2.730 billion in 2009, down 7.7 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. UMC's share jumped from 13.1 percent in 2008 to 13.6 percent in 2009.

GlobalFoundries Inc. emerged and became the No. 4 player in the foundry business in 2009, according to Gartner. GlobalFoundries, the manufacturing spinoff of Advanced Micro Devices Inc., last year also acquired Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Pte. Ltd.

Chartered was in third place in 2009. GlobalFoundries had sales of $1.101 billion in 2009, with 5.5 percent share, according to the firm.

China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) went from 4th place in 2008 to 5th place last year. The company's sales hit $1.070 billion in 2009, down 21 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. SMIC's share fell from 6 percent in 2008 to 5.3 percent in 2009.

IBM Microelectronics' unit went from 5th place in 2008 to 6th place last year. The company's sales hit $383 million in 2009, down 32.3 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. IBM's share fell from 2.5 percent in 2008 to 1.9 percent in 2009.

Taiwan's Vanguard International Semiconductor went from 6th place in 2008 to 7th place last year. The company's sales hit $381 million in 2009, down 26 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. Its share fell from 2.3 percent in 2008 to 1.9 percent in 2009.

South Korea's Dongbu Electronics remained in 8th place. The company's sales hit $370 million in 2009, down 14.4 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. Its share fell from 1.9 percent in 2008 to 1.8 percent in 2009.

Israel's TowerJazz went from 7th place in 2008 to 9th place last year. The company's sales hit $298 million in 2009, down 31.7 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. Its share fell from 1.9 percent in 2008 to 1.5 percent in 2009.

Korea's Samsung went from 23th place in 2008 to 10th place last year. The company's sales hit $290 million in 2009, up 130.2 percent over 2008, according to Gartner. Its share jumped from 0.6 percent in 2008 to 1.4 percent in 2009. By
Mark LaPedus

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