October 30, 2007 - Demand for NAND flash memory, battles in the MPU space, and pains of big customers' change in strategies have shuffled the rankings of top chip suppliers in 3Q07, just as predicted, according to data from IC Insights.

Overall, all but three companies saw double-digit sales increases in 3Q, with the exceptions being major analog suppliers TI, ST, and Renesas. Intel and Samsung retained their usual 1-2 spots, each achieving modest mid-teens growth in 3Q following small single-digit sales declines in 2Q.

Heading up the hill is Toshiba, riding a 40.3% sales surge in 3Q (after a 23% slump in 2Q) thanks to nearly 50% gains in the NAND flash memory market. Hynix also hopped up one spot thanks to a 31% sales increase in 3Q, driven by NAND flash.

Meanwhile, AMD boosted sales 18% in 3Q to rise three spots, and IC Insights notes that it expects AMD to make another splash before year's end with a "major manufacturing/foundry deal." Elsewhere, TSMC gained one spot to No.5, with a ~21% increase in sales during the quarter, as utilizations have ramped to surpass "company-defined" 100% capacity after being 83% two quarters ago.

Heading down the list was Freescale, still feeling the pains of shrinking mobile-phone marketshare at its biggest customer Motorola.

Looking at the year's final quarter, DRAM prices should stabilize, with strong IC demand driven by PCs and high-end cell phones, notes IC Insights. These, added to a seasonal rebound that started in late 3Q, should finish 2007 on a positive note for semiconductor suppliers.

3Q07 Top 10 Semiconductor sales leaders
(Sales in US $M)

Company (2006 rank).....2006..........1Q07..........2Q07 (% change).....3Q07 (% change)

Intel (1)............................32,268..........8072..........7916 (-2%)...............9203 (16.3%)
Samsung (2)....................19,670.........4697..........4552 (-3%)...............5387 (18.3%)
Toshiba (5).......................9782...........3249..........2510 (-23%)..............3521 (40.3%)
TI (3)................................13,200..........3115..........3257 (5%)...................3461 (6.3%)
TSMC* (6).........................9748..........1922..........2258 (17%).................2724 (20.6%)
Hynix (7)...........................8009...........2569..........1998 (-22%)...............2621 (31.2%)
ST (4)................................9854...........2269..........2409 (6%)..................2555 (6.1%)
Renesas (8).....................7900..........1949..........1984 (2%)...................2041 (2.9%)
Sony (10).........................6019...........1716..........1573 (-8%)...............1780 (13.2%)
AMD (13).........................5649...........1233..........1378 (12%)...............1632 (18.4%)
TOTAL.........................122,099.........30,791.....29,835 (-3%)..........34,925 (17%)

*Foundry

Source: IC Insights, company reports