Indications of just how bad the second quarter of the year really was for the world's chip makers continue to surface. This time it's the latest pronouncement from Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International.

During Q2, SEMI says, shipments of silicon wafers fell 21 per cent, from Q1's 1.25 billion square inches of silicon to 988 million square inches. Q2's shipments also represent a year-on-year decline of 28 per cent.

The trade body reckons this fall will have on chip makers' plans to move to 300mm wafers. Wafer makers will be forced to cut back both production capacity and investment in the equipment needed to make the larger discs. ®