Chipmakers Slashing Production as Demand Crumbles

Semiconductor companies are planning sharp production cuts for both Q4 2008 and Q1 2009, according to a report today by Craig Berger, chip analyst at Friedman Billings Ramsey. He says that PC chip firms are seeing “significant production weakness,” as are communications IC producers–and that semiconductor companies are adjusting their own output accordingly.

Here’s a rundown on Berger’s outlook for production in the next few quarters from key chip companies; what he’s measuring here are wafer starts, or a little more roughly, units:

• Broadcom (BRCM): He sees production down 13 percent in Q4 from Q3, worse than his previous estimate of down eight percent; for Q1 he sees a further 17 percent cut.
• Marvell (MRVL): For Q4, down 18 percent, versus previous estimate of down 13 percent. For Q1, down another 10 percent.
• Texas Instruments (TXN): For Q4, production down 18 percent, no change; with Q1 down another 20 percent.

Read the rest of this post