Automotive, industrial and other non-consumer electronics IC demand has slowed down since the latter part of the second quarter, according to sources at IC design houses which have seen customers engaged in the fields begin to adjust inventory.

Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries are significantly gaining ground in energy storage and EV applications amid the mounting calls for reducing carbon emissions to net zero. This has prompted many industry conglomerates including Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) and Foxconn Technology (Hon Hai) to step up investments in domestic production of LFP batteries, according to industry sources.

IC testing house Sigurd Microelectronics has enjoyed stable demand for wireless and HPC chips, enabling it to post about flat sequential revenue growth in September.

Automotive chips and power devices continue to see uneven supplies, and Taiwan’s leading OSATs including ASE Technology and international IDMs such as Infineon, Renesas, NXP, ST Microelectronics and Onsemi all badly need backend equipment to support their chips production. According to Chan Pin Chong, senior vice president and general manager of products and solutions at Kulicke & Soffa (K&S), a leading vendor of advanced packaging and other semiconductor equipment, the gap between capacity demand and equipment supply has already been narrowing.