Korean media: Global semiconductor equipment delivery cycle doubles, Samsung and SK Hynix plan to place orders in advance

BlockBeats News: On July 24th, according to the South Korean "Electronic News", the delivery cycle of major semiconductor manufacturing equipment has been extended to twice its original length recently. Application materials ASML、 Panlin Group, Tokyo Electronics, and Ke Lei together account for about 70% of the global semiconductor equipment market, and their main equipment delivery cycles have generally been extended to 1.5 to 2 times the original. Some equipment with a normal delivery cycle of 6 months now needs to wait for about 1 year. Local equipment manufacturers in South Korea have also encountered similar situations. A Korean company that supplies front-end and back-end equipment to TSMC and Micron has extended the delivery cycle of some products from 3 to 4 months to 6 to 8 months; The delivery cycle of another Micron aftermarket equipment supplier has increased by 1.5 times, with some equipment waiting for more than 1 year. The delay in equipment delivery may affect the original production time of the wafer fab. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have started closely monitoring equipment delivery and are considering placing purchase orders earlier than originally planned to reduce the risk of equipment not being able to arrive on time. The extension of the delivery cycle in this round is different from the supply chain disruptions from 2021 to 2022, mainly due to the growth in chip demand driven by AI infrastructure investment, and the simultaneous expansion of wafer fabs by countries and enterprises, resulting in a surge in equipment orders. As global investment in wafer fabs continues, supply shortages related to equipment and plant construction may continue to exist. [Original link]