IPC president and CEO, John Mitchell, has issued the following statement on the expected passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill in the US Senate: “Electronics manufacturers welcome the prospect of historic infrastructure investments in America’s roads, ports, electric grids, and digital networks. Our members’ supply chains depend on modern, resilient infrastructure and in today’s high-tech world America’s infrastructure depends on cutting-edge, reliable electronics. We also appreciate the inclusion of smart manufacturing investments. This bipartisan infrastructure bill will help drive growth in the overall economic recovery, including the electronics industry.
“We commend the tireless efforts of Senators Rob Portman and Kyrsten Sinema, along with the bipartisan Group of 22, who labored arduously to produce this compromise.”
In other industry news, the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group’s quarterly analysis of the silicon wafer industry reported that silicon wafer shipments reached a new high in Q2 2021. Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments increased six per cent to 3,534 million square inches in the second quarter of 2021, surpassing the historical high set in the first quarter. Second quarter 2021 silicon wafer shipments grew 12 per cent from the 3,152 million square inches recorded during the same quarter last year.
Chairman SEMI SMG and vice president product development and applications engineering at Shin Etsu Handotai America, Neil Weaver, said: “Demand for silicon continues to see strong growth driven by multiple end-applications. The supply of silicon for both 300mm and 200mm applications is tightening as demand continues to outstrip supply.”
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