With shipments from upstream chipmakers rising, most Taiwan-based packaging and testing houses are expected to post sequential growth in third-quarter sales.

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) and Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL) both expect their sales results for the second half of 2012 to outperform those for the first half of the year, citing brisk demand coming from the communications and consumer electronics sectors. The pair has also seen their advanced packaging lines run at almost full capacity, and voiced optimism about their business outlook for the third quarter.

Other second-tier IC backend houses, which focus on low pin-count semiconductors, have all seen their order visibility extend to the end of the third quarter, according to company sources. The players include Greatek Electronics and Lingsen Precision Industries.

Testing firms King Yuan Electronics (KYEC), Sigurd Microelectronics and Ardentec are all positive about their performance in the third quarter with clear order visibility also through the end of the third quarter.

However, companies targeting the LCD panel and memory markets hold relatively conservative views.

Chipbond Technology and ChipMOS Technologies, which provide backend services mainly for LCD driver ICs, do not expect a strong third quarter due to weakness in demand for large-size panel applications. The pair estimated that sales for the third quarter are likely to stay flat or grow slightly from the prior quarter's levels.

Powertech Technology (PTI) has expressed caution about its business in the third quarter, judging from unfavorable macroeconomic developments which could negatively affect demand for memory used in consumer products. DRAM demand for PCs is also unlikely to pick up until the fourth quarter of 2012, affected by shipping schedules for Windows 8 products.