November 14, 2024 /SemiMedia/ — Global silicon wafer shipments reached 3.214 billion square inches in Q3 2023, marking a 5.9% sequential increase and a 6.8% year-on-year rise, according to a recent report by SEMI. This represents the highest level in five quarters. SEMI anticipates that silicon wafer shipments will continue to rise through 2025, although volumes have not yet returned to their 2022 peak.

Despite a decline in overall supply chain inventories, SEMI noted that stock levels remain relatively high. Demand for advanced silicon wafers used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications remains robust, while demand for automotive and industrial uses continues to be sluggish. In contrast, there has been some improvement in demand for wafers used in smartphones and other consumer products.

SEMI forecasts that global silicon wafer shipments will decline by 2% in 2024, reaching 12.174 billion square inches (MSI). However, as demand gradually recovers from the current downturn, shipments are expected to rebound by 10% in 2025, reaching 13.328 billion square inches (MSI).

The growth trend is likely to extend through 2027, driven by increasing demand related to AI and advanced manufacturing, according to SEMI. The production of advanced packaging and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is expected to require additional wafer capacity, further fueling demand. Key applications include temporary or permanent carrier wafers, interposer layers, chiplet partitioning, and the separation of memory/logic arrays.

SEMI believes that the growing adoption of new technologies and applications will drive sustained demand for silicon wafers in the coming years, bolstering global semiconductor fab utilization rates.