Chipset suppliers are asking downstream vendors and OEMs to place long-term chip orders of up to 6-12 months on concerns that wafer production will remain tight in fourth-quarter 2014 and first-quarter 2015, which may affect chip production, according to industry sources.

It would be difficult for downstream device vendors and OEMs to resist demand from chip suppliers, and therefore, the semiconductor supply chain in Taiwan is expected to remain bustling in the coming months, said the sources.

Traditionally, the end-device market and related supply chains are set to enter the off-peak season starting the fourth quarter of the year through the first quarter of the following year.

But some chipset suppliers have seen their order visibility for the first half of 2015 start climbing as a result of their demand for long-term orders from clients, said the sources.