Global power management chip prices will rise 10% annually in 2021, and supply will remain tight in the first half of 2022

According to TrendForce, TrendForce, as the power management chip (PMIC) is a short material in the shortage of semiconductors, the trend of price increases has continued so far. It is estimated that the average selling price (ASP) in 2021 will increase by nearly 10% annually, setting a record in the past six years. Highest.

From the perspective of the global supply chain, the current power management chip production capacity is mainly controlled by IDM manufacturers, including TI, Infineon, ADI, STMicroelectronics, NXP, ON Semiconductor, Renesas, Microchip, ROHM (Maxim has been acquired by ADI and Dialog is Renesas acquisition); IC design companies such as Qualcomm, MediaTek (MTK), etc. have also obtained part of the production capacity in the hands of foundry industry, and TI has a leading position, and the above companies account for more than 80% of the market.

From the perspective of product structure, with the continuous increase in demand for consumer electronics, communications, industrial control, and automotive terminals, coupled with product changes driven by industrial transformation, the use of power management chips in the global market has increased significantly. Consumer electronics products are the most widely used field of power management chips. Although the demand for laptops, Chromebooks, smartphones, and TVs has recently experienced noise, a few simple-structured products such as low-dropout linear regulators (LDOs) have indeed slowed down. However, due to the structural increase in the demand for power management chips in electronic products, some models are still in short supply. Among them, Qualcomm and MTK are limited by the shortage of mature process capacity of foundry, and their own power management chips are also quite tight.

In addition, under the recovery of the auto market, electric vehicles, automotive electronics, and ADAS have grown rapidly, and the technical requirements for power control, management and charging have increased, and there are many automotive chip inspection items. It is necessary to ensure their consistency and zero failure rate. IDM industry car chip orders have generally been scheduled to the end of 2022. Due to factors such as full capacity and shortage of raw materials, the current power management chip suppliers have set a longer delivery period. The delivery time of consumer electronics chips has been extended to 12 to 26 weeks; the delivery time of automotive chips is as long as 40 to 52 weeks. , Some of the exclusively produced models even stopped taking orders.

TrendForce believes that the demand for power management chips continues to be strong in the fourth quarter, and the overall production capacity is still in short supply. With IDM industry leading the rise, the price of power management chips will remain high-end. Although there are still variables in the epidemic and it is difficult to increase the production capacity of 8-inch wafers significantly, TI`s new plant RFAB2 will be mass-produced in the second half of 2022. In addition, foundries plan to produce some 8-inch wafers. The advancement of power management chips to 12 inches has a high possibility of moderately alleviating the insufficient capacity of power management chips, but we still need to pay attention to changes in market supply and demand in the future.