VLSI: IC billings dip in 'skittish market'

SAN JOSE, Calif. - It's a ''skittish market'' for ICs, according to VLSI Research Inc.'s ''Semiconductor Analytics'' report.   

For the week ended April 22, IC billings were $4.57 billion in the period, down 3 percent from the previous week, but up 7 percent from the like period a year ago, according to the report.

Chip ASPs were $1.22 in the period, down 3 percent from the previous week and down 2 percent from a year ago, according to the report.
 
IC units were 3.74 billion in the period, flat from the previous week and up 12 percent from a year ago, according to the report.

It's ''a very skittish market'' for ICs, according to the firm. IC sales were ''21 percent below March peak. Billings (are) down by almost $2 billion a week.''

Here are some other trends: Memory is soaring. CPU is rising. Mobile leads growth. Automotive and industrial are flat.

Fab tool vendors are seeing some order delays. ''Initially the push-outs were seen in DRAM orders, but lately they’ve spilled into the foundry/subcon and logic,'' according to a separate report from the firm.

''Some of these deliveries have been pushed back as far as December, though the bulk of them are expected to take place in September. Chipmakers have become skittish lately, following a hot March,'' according to the report. In the foundry space, TSMC has dialed down its early optimism. There are reports that utilization rates at TSMC are falling due to slowing orders in the communications market. We also see signs that Globalfoundries could be gaining share.''